another breakup

I broke up with my potential cofounders last night, even though I think the prospects for their company are strong.

I realized that if I’m committing to working on something for 5+ years, then either: I need to be in charge OR I need to deeply trust the person in charge. When I say trust, I mean trust in the moral sense (which I was building towards with these guys), but also trust in the philosophical/decision making sense (i.e. I philosophically agree with how the CEO approaches problems and I trust that he will make considered, deliberate decisions).

Ultimately I didn’t want to put my fate in the hands of someone I did not trust to make good decisions.

Paul Graham has consistently reinforced the importance of the cofounder relationship in a startup (akin to marriage without the sex). I had read this many times yet still overlooked this phenomenon. Consequently I had to learn the lesson via first hand experience, yet again. Apparently I have to make every startup mistake myself to internalize the lesson…at least I’m learning.

Fun fact – last night was my 3rd breakup in the past 1.5 months (1 personal, 2 cofounder). Either I’m getting really good at culling relationships that won’t stand the test of time, OR I am an insufferable prick. Feel free to keep your answer to yourself…