I just quit a company that was never (formally) made

I'm a father. I have three teen-age children: 17, 15, 13. I'm a business owner.

I'm also a lawyer and I know what it takes to create and maintain an LLC. It's a big fucking pain in the ass, and it is totally irrelevant to the success or failure of a business.

Maybe you can't see the view from your father's side of the equation. Nor can I -- I do not know you and we have never met. But I can guess what is going through his head.

What I do know is that I deeply want my children to succeed in life. I'll bet your father does, too.

I'll also bet that he doesn't give two fucks about owning 50% of a company with you. I'll bet in his eyes the company is 100% yours, and he wants nothing but the best for you.

He didn't invest in a company to buy you a MacBook. He gave you a MacBook because he's your dad and he loves you and he wants you to massively succeed in ways he never did.

He's watching you work hard, and I'll bet he is thrilled at every achievement, big and small. He's probably thrilled just to see you get down and grind hard. Do you know how rare that is in a 16-year old? That is gold to a dad.

He was probably crushed when you gave him the MacBook back. Because that meant you were quitting. I hate it when I see my kids quit. He doesn't care about getting his investment back. His investment is you. He loves you.

You had a company that you 100% owned. You quit. Your reason for quitting is because your father did not give you something you do not need. That's stupid on stilts.

Don't do that. If you quit now you will keep quitting when you are 18. And 22. And 30. And 45. And 60.

You published apps. That means you have a business. A business is one or more people producing something that other people (customers) think is valuable. They vote for your efforts by giving you money to show that they value what you produced.

You have a business. Don't throw that away.

You have a father who loves you. Don't throw that away, either.

That's just confusing because I didn't give up the MacBook willingly. I told him I didn't want to work on it anymore with him because he didn't seem to into it as much I had hoped. I even gave him the offer that I'll stay if it was split 70/30, but he said no. He's even taking it another step by only allowing me to access the Internet for school now.

Heh. Wait until you're a parent before you think you understand the situation.

Internet privileges are removed by parents because they see their kids flaking off and not getting stuff done. Not because they are mean.

It is a giant thankless pain in the ass to have teenagers. And it is the best thing in the world. I had dinner tonight with my three and almost shed a tear in the restaurant from happiness. And I have a flakey kid -- much like you I suspect. :-)

Good luck, buddy. It is a long and wonderful life. Treasure these lessons, as puzzled as you are right now. You are only puzzled because you misinterpret reality. That will change.

I would have given a lot for the opportunity you've been given. To have no bills, no worries, no responsibilities AND have the time to learn! I beg you to reconsider. If you haven't made any money yet then there is no reason to start a company. A company is a response to an income problem. You don't have that problem yet so let it go.

Make some apps, as many as you can. keep them small. Don't bite off more than you can chew. Get feedback on everything you do. Get feedback on what you plan to do. The skill you are trying to learn is to really understand what people want and then turn that into an app that speaks to their needs.

Please please please reconsider! I wish you all the best.

The thing is, it wasn't going anywhere. I couldn't make any apps that costs money (since I needed to make the company first to get an EIN).

young homie, let me break it down for you.

do you understand how much money mother fuckers are throwing at developers?

if you learn to make a specific type of app and then try to sell it you may or may not get any business from the app store but you will have obtained the skills necessary to repeat the work for someone who has ca$h - forever in the future you will be able to provide this service. learn and build as much as humanly possible mane.

I don't know what an eid is but if you had a free app with enough users that you knew you needed to start charging NOW then you wouldn't have to convince your dad to pay for an llc... you'd find the money yourself. You can get one online for cheap.

I'm a dad. I can tell you i wouldn't need to know anything about what you are doing to know if there aren't hundreds of customers interested and a real high quality product done and dusted and on the table then its too early to get bogged down by paperwork. you are in the r&d phase right now and that is a good thing. you are light and nimble, move fast! When you have a winner, you'll know.

What do you need an EIN for? Is this an app store thing? In most cases your SSN serves as an EIN. If you really need an EIN, you don't need an LLC for that. http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/when-does-sole-propri...

I can't, because I'm not 18. And he doesn't want to use his.

Where'd you hear that there's an age limit on applying for an EIN? And you didn't say why you need one.

I tried using my own SSN, but they said I wasn't old enough. You have to send in that info for tax forms and such.

Hmm, difficult situation. Your father didn't keep his end of the bargain. I agree that you can't just let that go; a deal is a deal.

Sounds like firing him and moving on is the right thing to do.