I’m not entirely sure about this. The author’s points do make sense on some level, but maybe his experiences don’t really lead to such generalizations. To what extent what he’s gone through is the outcome of personal choices and not "rules of the game"?
First, he appears to suggest that one should not go into business with friends. I’ve actually had a positive experience working with my friends, largely because I choose decent, hard-working people to be my friends and that’s exactly the type of people I want to work with. Also, I like to become friends with people I work with. Does that mean I should fire them or quit the job once I think of them as my friends? Surely, the team should differentiate between the relationships they have during and after working hours, but in my opinion and experience, the concepts are not exclusive. What’s important is clarity of expectations and defined relationships.
Second, the democracy of a startup is sometimes exactly the reason why people choose to join the venture. Let’s face it, distant promises of great fortunes only feed the gut, not the stomach. So people join to have a say. They can task for someone elsewhere and with pay. How much extra equity does the idea entitle the person to anyways? To deal with the issue, though, the team should have clearly defined areas of competence / leadership. The author may have led the way with the business plan creation, whereas someone else took the responsibility for the development.
All in all, it’s unfortunate that the author had to go through this, but I am not yet ready to follow all of his suggestions.
First, he appears to suggest that one should not go into business with friends. I’ve actually had a positive experience working with my friends, largely because I choose decent, hard-working people to be my friends and that’s exactly the type of people I want to work with. Also, I like to become friends with people I work with. Does that mean I should fire them or quit the job once I think of them as my friends? Surely, the team should differentiate between the relationships they have during and after working hours, but in my opinion and experience, the concepts are not exclusive. What’s important is clarity of expectations and defined relationships.
Second, the democracy of a startup is sometimes exactly the reason why people choose to join the venture. Let’s face it, distant promises of great fortunes only feed the gut, not the stomach. So people join to have a say. They can task for someone elsewhere and with pay. How much extra equity does the idea entitle the person to anyways? To deal with the issue, though, the team should have clearly defined areas of competence / leadership. The author may have led the way with the business plan creation, whereas someone else took the responsibility for the development.
All in all, it’s unfortunate that the author had to go through this, but I am not yet ready to follow all of his suggestions.