Having been through this a couple of times, I agree with others: you&#x27;ll be much happier later if you work to preserve the relationships than if you fight hard for 7% of nothing.<p>20 years after my first business break-up, I don&#x27;t even remember what we were fighting about or how we resolved it, but I remember that it ended poorly and that I wish it weren&#x27;t so. For better or worse, co-founders are big parts of our lives. That will be true long after you&#x27;ve spent and forgotten whatever money you get in a bitter settlement.<p>This month, on the other hand, I&#x27;m leaving something after our venture didn&#x27;t work out. We just did a big project retrospective a few days ago. It wasn&#x27;t easy, but talking everything over meant that the team walked away stronger than ever even as we go our separate ways. We&#x27;re all very proud of that.