My startup is running out of fund. What should I do?

My favorite sticky floor local dive bar shuttered at first blush of the pandemic. We've all been waiting with promises of an opening around the corner. I finally got the skinny: owner took the moment to do much needed deep repairs, gutting the whole place. But he needed more money to get it back up and running. So he took out a loan, and then another. Now it's not finished and he can't get any more financing. Wtf is he going to do?? I say open the bar in the bar's parking lot is what.

Similar to you, you ran out of runway and have seemingly nothing of substance to end users or investors alike. Take what you can from your code and pack it up. Keep your network of smart people around you in good favor. This one is done. Try again. Maybe a very similar product or wildly different. No zombie'ing! Your time and life are valuable. Use it as such.

> My cofounder is telling me if I don't keep working on this startup (using the money out of my cofounder & me's pocket after the company die)

You should establish what that would actually look like. How long would you guys realistically run like that? What would you need to accomplish to make it work? How much time would you have to accomplish your goal?

Just remember that doing a startup is risky and all of you took that risk - you, your cofounder, your investors and your employees. Sometimes, risk pays off, but most of the time, it does not.

Playing the guilt game just makes is an emotional blackmail and you need to learn to recognize it as such. You do not have to all-in in something you do not see a good chance of success. Knowing when you fold and walk away from the table is an equally important skill.

> My cofounder is telling me if I don't keep working on this startup (using the money out of my cofounder & me's pocket after the company die), then I am being guilty to him

He is not able to accept he fell on the wrong side of risk/reward. Failure is a norm for startups. End it.

He needs to take responsibility for his decision of taking on risk. Not blame you for it, as you are in the same shoes as him.

if i'm in your position, i would stop everything i'm doing and would spend my time doing pre-sales and closing deals. sales fixes a lot of problems, and at this point it's also your next ticket to getting your next funding: by creating and retaining some traction in the most ramen profitable way.

Tough situation, clearly lots of emotions which is understandable. As others mention, startups are high risk, don’t let cofounders manipulate your thinking on that. Re:launch cost & funding, I’d ask if you actually need that money. Can you get any customers with what you have? Investors are spoiled for choice, and can afford to make startups hit higher burden of proof before funding. Regardless of market challenges, showing sales & fit is a big deal. Getting that could change your fortunes. If you do shut down, take pride in what you tried to do. Be sure to do a post mortem and take the learnings with you in your career. Startup or not, you’ve done something very hard that very few try. It will serves you well as n future work

> What are your guys thought?

Former fintech co-founder: I boot-strapped (VC and incubators expressed interest but wouldn't give term sheets because of Bitcoin's 'gray zone' reputation) and with this current tech-apocalypse afflicting the entire Industry I fear you will have a very hard-time raising anything without showing revenue right now. The fat is being trimmed even on the most established of companies, and I fear you will have to enter the work-force if you are in such dire need of money.

> My cofounder is telling me if I don't keep working on this startup (using the money out of my cofounder & me's pocket after the company die), then I am being guilty to him, guilty to current investors and guilty to employees, because I am not all in.

I self-imposed this on myself, and to be honest had I not done it would have never gone anywhere, whihc had a cascade of effects downstream to the entire cannabis Industry; but ultimately I personally feel I paid too high a cost to do it in the end--it was my most daunting Pyrrhic victory which seemed never ending until I decided to step down and go Corpo for a bit.

As someone who went through this and had a decent exit I think that if you thought it's worth doing, you probably wouldn't need external validation, but if I were you I'd really consider what your physical and mental health is worth to you because you will be sacrificing both for the foreseeable future.

I'd say start with what other skills can you leverage in this market and start from there, and have a brutally honest assessment with your team as to what it will take to keep the lights on.

> But the business we are in require millions of dollars to launch (after the code is ready). Without that much of money, the product provides 0 value.

Why? Are you having to comply with lots of legal issues/regulations in various markets?

In my time friends were getting sent to prison for non-compliance of nebulous KYC-AML laws and were deemed money transmitters when it was classified as property and not money depending what agency you asked in the US; my question is why would you enter a market that requires that much in run-way and think that this is a viable option let alone that could succeed given the current incumbents?

Fintech's appeal is in how well it scales with limited resources, which ultimately is the only thing that allows it to compete with legacy payment processors like Visa/MC who dominate the Market for a reason.

Can you sell the whole things as a ready-to-launch product to a funded org that’s either in the market, or wants to be?

If neither you nor your co-founder have the multiple millions to launch, if you drag the runway out by self-funding (and taking on a bunch of consumer debt), I suspect that in 6 months time you will be in the same position you are now, but on the verge of bankruptcy (or over the edge…). You have no winning position by continuing the same path you are in.

May we all know what this startup's product is? If your co-founder really believes in the product then do something that one of the co-founders of RethinkDB did, keep working on the product as a side-project. Nothing stops you both from working on it as a side-project, even open sourcing it could give it a new life and open up new opportunities.

Shut it down and move on.

If you are not happy working on something, the only guilt you should have is that you're life is being spent on something that doesn't make you happy.

You live just once.

Don't you have to get certain certifications/audits done before you can launch a fintech product?

Why do you need so much cash to launch?

You could work part-time to help support project. But you need a new opportunity to pay your bills etc.

I’d always wonder if the company/product would have succeeded if I quit before launching.

what is ur current position and % shares in current company?

is that an invitation to died together?