I am a co-founder of a Silicon Valley tech startup. Without getting into too many details, the company is by most measures successful. We recently raised a round of fundraising at a $50mm valuation and I own roughly 15% of the business. Unfortunately, the company is private and my ownership is illiquid. On paper I am rich, but in the real world I am struggling to get by.
My co-founder and I have taken a meager salary for the past few years to free up funds to grow the team. This works much better for him than it does for me — he’s single, but I have a wife and two kids. He has a roommate to help with rent and utilities, my wife is a SAHM due to how expensive childcare is in this area. We’ve spoken about paying ourselves more and he’s somewhat empathetic, but since he’s not feeling the crunch it’s not a priority.
I am confident the hard work we’re doing at the company will pay off at some unknown point down the road (through raising again, being acquired, or IPO’ing), but I’m getting real close to running out of savings. I’m looking for advice on how to get from here to there. I’ve tried applying for a loan, but my credit isn’t where it should be. I’ve thought of asking friends or family for help, but I come from a poor family and don’t really have anyone in my life who I would feel comfortable approaching. I’ve taken some side jobs and that’s really the only way we’ve stayed afloat, but it’s not sustainable.
Are there other avenues open to someone in my particular situation or am I just out of luck until there’s a liquidity event?
Submitted June 10, 2017 at 06:06AM by pm_me_wholesome_stuf http://ift.tt/2r4SM04
