It was not too wise to start out down this path with your co-founder in another country - with that said - my advice to you would be to simply trust your gut. Based on what you have described, I don't think equity is the problem. There seems to be an established history of 'flakiness' and he clearly doesn't seem to share your passion. If you continue to sense his heart just isn't in the project then you should cut your losses and sever the relationship. If you do split up make sure you get a waiver from him.
I can relate. Only a couple of weeks ago, days after submitting our YC application, my co-founder (technical half) bailed on me. Fortunately, I had a few other friends that were interested in my idea and they jumped on the opportunity. You can't dwell on it. Shit happens! As an entrepreneur this probably won't be the first or last time that something comes out of left field. I would try to find out why this dude bailed and then use this opportunity to find another co-founder, ideally one you know in person. As an active student, you have access to so many people on campus. Find someone that is passionate about your idea and compliments your skill set. If there is an entrepreneurship club or program at your school, that might be a good place to start...
My friend was faced with a similar problem (10K+ ATT bill) after traveling to the middle east. He hired an attorney, who was able to negotiate with ATT and after some back and forth they agreed to significantly adjust and settle the bill for only a few hundred dollars.
Shortly after submitting our application, my co-founder (technical half) informed me he could no longer devote the time necessary to the startup for various personal reasons. This caught me completely off guard and I was pretty bummed. Determined not to let this phase me, I called another friend the next day who had been really interested in the idea and asked him if he would want to be my co-founder. He agreed and now he's on board.
I have since removed my original co-founder from the application and I plan to update the application with my new co-founders information. I wanted to know if there was a particular way I should handle such an update to the application? I guess I am also curious to know how this might affect our application, and whether this has occurred before? Thanks for any help in advance.
Congrats! One thing I would highly recommend, only because it worked so well with my boys, is a motorized swing - specifically the one made by Fisher Price. It consistently helped with soothing them or putting them to sleep while they were infants, when almost everything else failed. The reviews don't lie - check out http://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-Cradle-Swing-Little/dp/B0...
Most coaches would rather play it safe, especially where the risk of turning over the ball with favorable field position outweighs the benefit of another 4 downs...but what if the 4th down decision to punt or to 'go for it' could be crowdsourced? Meaning fans could weigh in with their decision from the stadium or from home - maybe this would help tip the scales in those questionable scenarios...
I don't think they get it - no one watches commericals. Most television commercials (with some exceptions, such as during the super bowl) are ignored, skipped, or fast forwarded by viewers as soon as they appear on screen. In fact, most cable companies, Cablevision included, readily dispense DVR's that enable viewers to fast forward through commercials and anything else that is recorded onto them...
Sounds awesome, just joined. Would appreciate a few days notice if possible since I'd be coming to SF from NYC. If any YC alums are up for doing something similar in NYC please let me know too. Thanks again
Consider the firm or lawyer being compensated on a contingency fee basis -- they must cover all the expenses and overhead related to prosecuting the case, including the salaries for attorneys and paralegals working the case -- and if they lose they get nothing. Since their reward for winning the case is fixed, at usually 1/3, reducing the time and cost they expend on a case, particularly during e-discovery (which can consume quite a bit of time and manpower), is both valuable and in their best interests.
As a sole proprietor nothing precludes you from having a web development agreement between you and your customers. In general, it's always good to have things in writing, it will not only protect you, but it will help eliminate confusion and address issues that may arise between you and your customers down the line. If you are planning to grow, hire employees, or just want limited liability and pass through taxation benefits, than you might want to also consider forming an LLC rather than a S corp - but it really depends on your circumstances. It would not hurt to consult with an attorney...
I like the idea. However the results did not seem to be completely accurate for me. For example, I searched for Steak, Midtown, NYC. The first result, was Peter Luger (an amazing steakhouse) but it's located in Brooklyn (a real schlep from midtown). Other than that it would be great if you could incorporate the reviews in their entirety within your site, rather than pointing us to an external URL.
Nice landing page. I did have one question under the first paragraph it says: "...the to field will be pre-selected so all you have to do is start typing." How would it know which contact to fill the "to:" field with?
GPA calculation varies from school to school, and even from department to department within a school. Classes might be weighted differently across a variety of factors such as difficulty, hours, and course work, thus, a straight average, although common in many scenarios, is not always the hard and fast rule in the US.