I feel for you. I've been on the "idiot" side before but I understand where you're coming from. A couple things I'd have you do:
- Don't take advice from people who know very little and have no context.
- Clarify your ownership position in the company. "Can you explain my equity thing to me again?" Know what you own now. Know what you're entitled to in the future. If you already know this information, you can skip this step.
- Think of a person you completely trust and whose intellect you fully respect. Let's call them X. Sit down on your own and write X a letter that outlines the whole situation.
Address at least the following:
a) What you want out of the deal
b) What you think it'll take to make the deal successful
c) Conditions under which you're willing to keep at it
d) Whether or not you want to keep going forward with this thing
e) All the other important things that you know.
Make it a good letter. Spend real time on this letter. Something around 1,000 words or more.
Don't send letter. Save letter. Go to sleep.
- Next day (after you've slept and eaten), revise your letter. Really go through it and make it say what you want it to say. Take out that part that's irrelevant. Add the section about the thing you forgot.
Don't send letter. Save letter. Go to sleep.
- Next day, read letter. Revise it again if you need to.
Twist: The letter isn't for X. It's for you.
- At this point, you've built a clear inventory of what you own in the business and what you think needs to happen in order for it to work and for you to stay.
My guess is that you'll then know what you need to do. That might mean sit down and talk with the idiots. It might mean that you need to leave asap. It might mean an N day ultimatum. It might mean something else.
But whatever it means, it will have come from you.
Also, read this. I have it on the mirror in my bathroom.
- Don't take advice from people who know very little and have no context.
- Clarify your ownership position in the company. "Can you explain my equity thing to me again?" Know what you own now. Know what you're entitled to in the future. If you already know this information, you can skip this step.
- Think of a person you completely trust and whose intellect you fully respect. Let's call them X. Sit down on your own and write X a letter that outlines the whole situation.
Address at least the following:
a) What you want out of the deal b) What you think it'll take to make the deal successful c) Conditions under which you're willing to keep at it d) Whether or not you want to keep going forward with this thing e) All the other important things that you know.
Make it a good letter. Spend real time on this letter. Something around 1,000 words or more.
Don't send letter. Save letter. Go to sleep.
- Next day (after you've slept and eaten), revise your letter. Really go through it and make it say what you want it to say. Take out that part that's irrelevant. Add the section about the thing you forgot.
Don't send letter. Save letter. Go to sleep.
- Next day, read letter. Revise it again if you need to.
Twist: The letter isn't for X. It's for you.
- At this point, you've built a clear inventory of what you own in the business and what you think needs to happen in order for it to work and for you to stay.
My guess is that you'll then know what you need to do. That might mean sit down and talk with the idiots. It might mean that you need to leave asap. It might mean an N day ultimatum. It might mean something else.
But whatever it means, it will have come from you.
Also, read this. I have it on the mirror in my bathroom.
http://www.cs.columbia.edu/~gongsu/desiderata_textonly.html
You are going to live through this experience. You will benefit from the lessons you've learned in this experience. This, too, shall pass.
Good luck, fellow traveler.