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[Not an expert here, just offering another perspective.]

First of all, the CTO telling you he wouldn't hire you at the company you founded is [can't find a polite term]. It's reasonable to say something specific about you is subpar (like coding), and even that you wouldn't fit in a certain role he's planning to define (like full-time coder).

But this is (partially) your company, and an "experienced" CTO came to you because he saw something there. Unless your other partners did all the useful work, you've got some real value -- don't sell yourself short.

There are a lot of options here and you can really make the path for yourself. What is great about you that helped make the company into something? What kind of a role would allow those capabilities to flourish? You could call yourself a Chief Product Officer and say that you have control over what gets delivered and when, what directions the product will take, etc. (not sure if that's what a CPO does, but it doesn't matter).

If you are still inspired to go forward with this startup, and you see such a role for yourself, go make that case. For example, tell the CTO and the CEO that you intend to shed your coding responsibilities as the CTO builds that organization, and get them excited about what you can do as CPO (or whatever). Demand real responsibilities and control, and say that you have the best understanding of the product and the best vision for the future. You could end up much more influential than the CTO, who might end up just being responsible for delivering on your visions. Their whole perspective of you might change, and they might get behind you.

If you've lost inspiration, then probably a buyout makes sense. Again, don't sell yourself short -- you helped get the company this far, and did something right. Considering the risk you took, and probably low pay, it seems fair to get about 2X a fully-loaded engineer's cost for the time you were working full-time there. If your company is doing well maybe significantly more (again, not an expert, just a gut feel).



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