Ask HN: I was fired from a startup I helped found, I'm fucked
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3962292I'm in a rough spot and I'd like to ask for advice from my fellow HNers. I was employee #1 at my startup and was fired 11 months in - 1 month from my cliff. I'm not necessarily bummed I was let go, things changed with the company and my role so I guess I just wasn't a good fit anymore. I get that. I'm sad because I'm out of money and and have no stock. I spent so much $$ commuting (SF to Palo Alto), eating out in Palo Alto, courting clients etc. I hardly have 2 months of personal runway saved up. And of course I worked my ass off. I never even expensed any travel expenses because I figured it was best to keep the money with the company. All the while I was getting paid a startup salary to begin with.
But now I don't have anything to show for it and am going broke. They are offering me a tiny equity package which is approximately equal to 3.5 months of work but it seems like an insult. In exchange they are asking me to sign a document which basically says I can never take any action against them, ever. So should I ask or demand more? Do I have any other options here? I would like to stay on good terms with the 3 founders because I really do respect them professionally but I'm not sure what to do. Another potentially interesting detail: I'm in my 20s and they are all 10-18 years older than me.
Onward and upward,
-grumpymarketer
[This is a throw away account obviously because I want to protect the identity of my former employer for the time being.]