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Ask HN: Is it a good decission to partner with a client?

1 points by mythriel ↗ HN
I have been working for a client on a startup which at the moment is in testing on a development server and it will be released very soon and I really like the site and how everything turned out to work(mostly because it was my call on a lot of features). Even tho it was a regular client work I felt attached to the project and to the startup and I think it could have some potential with maybe some investment and more development hours from my side. The problem is the client has no idea regarding all the development needed for social network application and the constant improvement that I need to do and he doesn't want to invest more money in development that would consist of improving the user experience, improving performance, advance monitoring system and so on. I was thinking to partner with him and take control of the startup as a CTO but I am not sure what to do. This is the presentation video about the idea http://vimeo.com/60602839 . So what do you guys think? Should I wait and see how it goes and after that make a decision or should I take the wheel and improve and tweak the site to be better and maybe more successful but working for free in exchange of equity and being a CTO.

4 comments

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benologist
You're much better off finding a way where you can continue development yourself without the hassle of having a major shareholder, partner and ultimately boss who has no interest, knowledge or involvement in developing it further.
kellros
I tend to agree. I would only consider partnering up if the partners would need to work at least as hard as me and the concept was already validated and making money already. It really comes down to risk/reward since no matter how much you enjoy the job/project, you still have to fulfill your needs/wants and responsibilities. Obviously there is always risk involved, but you have to weigh up this opportunity in terms of career advancement and your well-being.
mythriel
He has interest in developing but has no clear plan and as a client he doesn't know all the improvements that need to be made to a application every day in order to make it bigger so he will probably invest just in some small additions to the site like new features and stuff like that
benologist
It still really sounds like a bad idea. His intentions are primarily to use the product so at some point it's going to to deviate from what he wants to a more general solution for others.

Maybe he should be an advisor, maybe he should be an angel if he's qualified or have some amount of equity but not an ongoing role etc, or maybe he should just be billed for the work that he wants.

He definitely shouldn't be your boss or anything even approaching equal partner in this venture, and you have to look at the big picture... you could still be doing this crap in 2018.