[jacquesm]

You're done with this one (because it seems you lack energy and conviction to continue), but: You haven't lost at life and you're not losing at life, you've gained something extremely valuable: experience.

Find a job, recover for a while (or if your partner is really wealthy kick back for a week or two and do absolutely nothing until you can't wait to get back to work, if you are from such different backgrounds it would not be outrageous to ask for a bit of support from that direction) and then try again, the start-up world does not care as much about your failures as it cares about your experience and you'll do much better the next time around, I guarantee it. Been there, done that, have several t-shirts, failure is absolutely ok and simply the expected outcome so don't sweat it. Best of luck and if I can help you or if you have concrete questions drop me a line, email in profile.

Apropos different backgrounds financially: that's a bad combination to start with, it means you will have a hard time keeping your respective goals aligned in the longer term.

If your partner does want to continue the business without you then that's fine, simply hold on to your portion of the business even if you don't work there any longer (your obligation to work stopped when you stopped receiving payment) or sell it to him (he can afford it after all...). And don't sell too cheap, keep in mind the company owes you at least several months back-pay!

[bsbechtel]

To piggy back off this, some are easily able to go out and find a job after a failed startup, but it strongly depends on your skill set and where you live. Programmers in the Bay Area - easy, founders outside the US - this could be much more difficult, I don't know. What I do know is that doing a job search in a tough market after a failed startup, with no money and bills due, can be even more draining and depressing than seeing something you were so passionate about fail.

I don't want to get you down, but want to encourage you to look for the option that is best for you (the OP suggested starting another startup, if you can as well). It may be hard right now, given your emotional state, but if you are the type of person that has always been able to find creative solutions to problems (or ways to do things better) no matter what you are working on, then have confidence in yourself that you can add value by doing this in whatever you decide to do next.

As far as what to do next then, start small. Look for the easiest/lowest risk way to make $1. If it's manual labor - mowing lawns, cleaning houses, whatever, then go do it. You'll rebuild your confidence in doing this, and if you believe you are a creative problem solver (most founders are), you will see new ways to do your work as you go about it. You will also figure out new ways to scale, and build a business. It won't be an easy path, but you will start to feel better about yourself almost immediately, and that's what's most important.

[dataker]

My experience for failing in a developing country: it might take you to a different industry.

I was the technical founder in the startup and finding a technical job afterward became harder. However, I did get a job in VC and then PE because of my failed experience.

May not be the same experience as coding, but the pay is outrageously good + you get to know awesome people. In the end, you broaden your network to find even more opportunites to found ventures.

[ing33k]

Might be too much to ask, but do you mind sharing some details on why it was difficult to find a suitable job in tech ?

Thanks for your insight.

[dataker]

If you're just an engineer(no seniority/management required), you'll be fine, but wages are low in my country.

If you wanna be an senior/lead/head engineer, many assume you weren't competent enough to manage the development of a product, even if it wasn't the reason the startup failed.

[superpi]

Thanks alot, from all the feedback, seems I'm better off applying for a job now, and recovering later. I've actually just sent a quick email to one of my contacts at a company I don't mind working for. Fingers crossed.

[NathanKP]

If you have the luxury take a couple weeks off before you decide for sure on where you want to start working again.

After the startup I was working at failed I thought I wanted to work at a big corp that was stable because I felt disillusioned by the failure of the startup. But after a couple weeks of talking to different companies and interviewing I realized that I wouldn't be happy working for a big corp even if it was risk free.

I ended up turning down a nice offer from a big corp and jumping on board another startup (a much more successful one though).

[JVillella]

"You haven't lost at life and you're not losing at life, you've gained something extremely valuable: experience."

Very well said!