They are building well, largely bootstrapped, in a business model that needs sustainable growth, not suited for Venture scale.
When they started the business, 'angels' showed up and offered to build out the technology + guide strategy for a significant early chunk of the company.
Founder was new, didn't know how things work (one of the reasons I write daily!), ended up agreeing and handing over shares.
No clear deliverables in an agreement, just verbal, the 'angel' had a ton of paid PR across the internet so looks credible, especially for folks without experience building.
Fast forward 7 months, the tech deliverables haven't been met.
The 'angel' goes silent. The Founder does what awesome entrepreneurs do, build and grow.
On advice from several folks, they looked into clawing these shares back, since they were given for zero value add.
Suddenly this 'angel' has turned hostile, threatening criminal cases and more.
My first piece of advice, lawyer up, shared my 4 favourites (Siddharth Chandrashekhar , Akshit Goyal, Shivaarti Bajaj, Mohit Goel).
Second (not a lawyer!), gather up every bit of correspondence with this 'angel' from the starting point, compile it and keep it ready for your lawyer.
Third. Get ready to fight.
Far too many assh***s prey on aspiring entrepreneurs, knowing that any threat of legal action would intimidate most folks into silence.
The Law is meant to protect you, especially with the right intentions. Sure, it's painful, the process is slow as hell (Govt PLEASE fix) but it exists.
Founders, if an 'angel' is asking for shares in exchange for 'advice/tech/strategy', ask them to take a long walk off a short cliff.
Real investors put money into play, followed up with introductions and advice to help your business (since that's how our shares appreciate!).
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