Title: I was hired and unhired in 2 weeks, for no reason except  being told that &quot;our plans changed&quot;.<p>I joined as employee #1 of a YC startup. I spent a week working with them before joining. They liked me, and I liked them. I officially joined as the COO. Deal was to work remotely, till we all figured out the visa.<p>And then, suddenly I was told over a ‘catch-up call’, that they have to rethink the hiring decision because they really needed someone with a different skill set. The conversation was friendly and polite.<p>Now <i>finger snap</i> - just like that – I am out! Specifically, I was politely asked to leave. Its the strangest experience of my life. They keep reiterating that its not performance related. I believe it.<p>The problem is:  
- I let all job offers go (I had a few good ones)  
- Told my friends&#x2F;family about the job, and that I will be moving to America  
- Reached out to all my contacts (including everyone who was trying to hire me) and attempted to sign them up for this YC service  
- I reached out to several people (e.g. at Google, FB, Partners at a management consultancy (i.e. my former employers)) asking them for a potential   investment into this company (&quot;Use our personal networks&quot; was a key strategy), some of these helped me find a job that I turned down<p>I like the founders - they are good guys. I may even understand that they need someone else, but personally that has left me with few options and in a bit of a depressed state! For my wife, this was such a huge decision (to join a startup and move to another country), and it was just awkward to convince her first, and give her the news.<p>I am not being very articulate about why this sucks – but any help&#x2F;advice would be awesome. I have a masters in CS, a failed startup and 6 yrs of management consulting behind me.<p>Edit: Thank you. Thank you for the wonderful support and advice. I called my wife and showed her this thread! We are going through every word. We are very touched by the amount of concern and positivity here! Thanks.
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