Part-time co-founders 7 months in, CEO not executing. Do I restructure or move on?
I started a B2B Healthtech startup in Germany about 9 months ago. I’m the technical founder and the only one full-time. We’re a team of 3 co-founders. The other two kept their full-time jobs and told me they’ll quit once we close our first funding round.
I get it, bills are real. But I’m taking the full financial risk here, alone, while we’re supposed to be building something together.
Here’s what’s bothering me most: the person we named CEO isn’t really operating like one. Not leading fundraising, not closing key partnerships, not setting the pace. I don’t think it’s bad intent, I just don’t think they’re fully in “founder mode.” And it’s hard to say this because these are longtime friends who joined my project.
From an investor standpoint, I’m also starting to wonder if our setup is hurting us. When you pitch a team where only one person is full-time, that’s a red flag. The commitment signal just isn’t there. My actual question: Do I need to have a hard conversation and set a deadline for them to go full-time? Do I take the CEO title and drive this myself? Or is this already a sign we’re not the right team to build this together?
Has anyone navigated this with co-founders who are also close friends? What did you actually do?