Three founders is three too many. Businesses don't need founders. They need owners and they need managing directors. Too many people think that becoming the former magically makes them into the latter.
Here is a test for the next time you are founding something. If you weren't a founder, you were just hired labor, and someone tried to give you 93% of this company and total autonomy in exchange for running it full-time, but NO other support of any kind and you would be completely on your own in every aspect of running this company - would you accept this?
For most ideas, the answer is, "Hell no. I have a lot better things to be doing with your time than running your worthless company without any support from you, full time in exchange for 93% of it."
People somehow fail to apply the same standard to their own ideas. They accept this bad deal just because the person who "gives" them 93% (or 100%) of the company is one and the same person, themselves.
Let me illustrate with an example. Think of an idea for a web site that you have.
If someoe approached you with that idea and asked you to code it, but they would not help in any way, would you do so in exchange for nearly 100% of it? Probably not.
But when you make YOURSELF the same proposition, you often end up saying, "Yes. I will code this since the result is mine."
You forget that the result is not worth the work and you would not accept it under more neutral terms.
This is simply illogical. Stop thinking like a founder, and start thinking like a managing director.
Here is a test for the next time you are founding something. If you weren't a founder, you were just hired labor, and someone tried to give you 93% of this company and total autonomy in exchange for running it full-time, but NO other support of any kind and you would be completely on your own in every aspect of running this company - would you accept this?
For most ideas, the answer is, "Hell no. I have a lot better things to be doing with your time than running your worthless company without any support from you, full time in exchange for 93% of it."
People somehow fail to apply the same standard to their own ideas. They accept this bad deal just because the person who "gives" them 93% (or 100%) of the company is one and the same person, themselves.
Let me illustrate with an example. Think of an idea for a web site that you have.
If someoe approached you with that idea and asked you to code it, but they would not help in any way, would you do so in exchange for nearly 100% of it? Probably not.
But when you make YOURSELF the same proposition, you often end up saying, "Yes. I will code this since the result is mine."
You forget that the result is not worth the work and you would not accept it under more neutral terms.
This is simply illogical. Stop thinking like a founder, and start thinking like a managing director.