Co-Founder Departure
My co-founder, for two months, decided that our idea was too risky, and she wanted to go her separate ways. Neither of us is technical. I need help figuring out what is legal to do and what's right to do. Here are the facts and timeline:
We started talking about the idea right before Christmas 2023. I was laid off in November, so I immediately jumped right in to research the landscape and whatnot while she continued to work for her company. Her company was undergoing restructuring, and she was expecting her last week with the company to be in late January 2024.
We agreed on a company name, purchased a domain name (~$5000), and incorporated the company in late January. Last week, almost exactly a month after incorporation, she decided the idea was too risky and wanted to pursue something else. I disagreed and wanted to move forward with the idea. So, she proposed that we "split up as partners."
We built a website, where I prepared the initial content and the first iteration of the website. She went in and made improvements to the website (5 pages of short website). We spent a lot of time interviewing potential technical co-founders but never landed on anyone. We have no MVP, no business lead, no traction, no revenue, and no actual plans to move forward. We applied to two accelerator programs but don't believe we will get into either one.
During our last discussion, we agreed that I would pay her for the domain name and the time that she put in for the website. I made her a reasonable offer on the website based on the fact that she had no prior experience in creating a website and was learning as she built it. (Neither did I! I watched a lot of Youtube videos!) She now wants me to pay for her idea, partnership, leadership of messaging, branding, contributions of time and expenses, and business strategy. Her request was nearly 20 times of what I offered for her work on the website.
I am at a lost of what to actually offer her. Please help!!
Should I just dissolve the company, abandon the website, and start from scratch??