“Damn, I’m going to have to part company with Debbie – how do I even do that?”

Firing a co-founder isn't like an employee termination, it's more like a divorce. It's messy, it's complicated, and it usually involves both parties being poorer for it.

But unlike a divorce, there's not a lot of discussion out there about what is even possible or where to turn.

Let’s dig in, shall we?

Can I legally "fire" a co-founder?

As an employee, almost anyone can be fired, although there may be jurisdictional laws in your area of the world that require certain steps or conditions.

But co-founders are typically not just employees – they own stock (usually, a lot of it) – so these conditions become far more complicated. Plus, some of these issues may exi...