[jbarmash]

I am surprised nobody mentioned the YC Founder Code of Ethics from earlier this year.

   http://www.ycombinator.com/ethics/

I'd argue these four bullet points are relevant:

-- Treating co-founders and employees with fairness and respect.

-- Not behaving in a way that damages the reputation of his/her company or of YC.

-- Keeping your word, including honoring handshake deals.

-- Generally behaving in an upstanding way.

The OP made a serious accusation against a YC company. I assume YC can pretty easily figure out which company this is. I would expect that YC would investigate and take action if warranted.

[poof131]

I agree, especially based on pg's past comments on VCs and handshake deals.[1] This was a handshake deal for employee number 1 and they screwed him. Why it happened we don't know and it could be the right call for both parties. But the manner it happened in is not acceptable behavior. The OP should be compensated appropriately, money and equity.

[1] http://www.ycombinator.com/handshake/

[guybrushT]

Thanks for pointing me (and all of us) to this link.

A - I love that this exists!

B - This needs to be discussed with startups more often by co-founders, employees and investors.

I know this is idealistic, but then startups (and people associated with them) often are. Startups can aspire to things/goals that larger companies can't. This (discussion about ethics) is as important, if not more important, than the "How do we grow" discussion.