On the Loss of a Cofounder

> A cofounder relationship can be a competitive one. The question of who is more “formidable” comes up a lot. Who will be the point of contact with investors? Who will represent the company to the outside world? Who will have the final say at an impasse? Navigating these questions can easily lay waste to your ego. The only reason he and I avoided this pitfall was because we addressed our insecurities to each other directly, rather than let them simmer beneath the surface. I soon came to learn that one of the most valuable opportunities of an experience like this was that your cofounder’s strengths could become your own.

Email me if you ever want to talk: matthewatcloudflaredotcom.

What stood out to me was how open and kind he was. He was willing to take a call with me as a student in college and offered to help me out with my projects – won't forget that. Wild to think how fleeting life is. Rest in peace, Christian.

But the Tik tok of the clock is there to remind us that we are not just founders but also humains, humains living a short life in the big timeline of history of innovation.

History will forget us, but our close relative will always have this page open at this tragic day.

To be fair, there are a lot of other working scenarios, where you can have similar types of relationships, like military duty, police, firefighters, etc.

In the US, men can be discouraged from talking about these kinds of relationships, but we have them. They are deep and wide. We often mask them behind bravado.

I have a number of friends that are/were in the police and fire service in New York. I also had an employee whose sister was killed in the towers during 9/11.

The firefighters were hit the hardest. Many of them continue to have deep depressions, even this many years later, in August and September.

It is interesting to read about co-founder relations, reading it made me think of Paul Allen and Bill Gates.

If anyone hasn't read Paul Allen's Idea Man, please do! One of the best biographies I have ever read, such a loving read.

Reading this article reminded me how Paul Allen described the early days of coding with Bill when there were just two of them.. They would spend the entire day coding, then at evening eat pizza and then watch whatever was on in theaters that day...

Reading that story and seeing how Paul Allen fondly looked back on it made me truly respect them.

The days are long, but the years are short!

My deepest thoughts to Christian’s family, friends, and coworkers as they face this loss.

https://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/story/news/local/2020/11...

He told me about how his life had changed with his recent baby. We discovered that my brother and his wife had worked at the same law firm. He was a genuinely nice guy.

Very sad to see this news.

Not to be insensitive but had to raise this topic because this is very rare situation, Anyone knows how the stock of the co-founder handled in this situation in early stage startup, at least in US?

Regarding your article, the title as well as the term "gone" left me wondering if he had died or (probably more common in startups?) ghosted you/your company until the fifth paragraph.