# Fired by His Own Co-Founder, Then Built the #1 Startup Accounting Platform | David Phillips, Fondo

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/solo-founders-7728246/fired-by-his-own-co-founder-then-built-the-1-startup-accounting-platform-david-phillips-fondo
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/solo-founders-7728246/fired-by-his-own-co-founder-then-built-the-1-startup-accounting-platform-david-phillips-fondo.md
Podcast: [Solo Founders](https://stenobird.com/podcast/solo-founders-7728246)
Published: 2026-05-13T17:29:14+00:00
Episode link: https://share.transistor.fm/s/27bb3a98
Audio file: https://media.transistor.fm/27bb3a98/2522091a.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/solo-founders-7728246/episodes/fired-by-his-own-co-founder-then-built-the-1-startup-accounting-platform-david-phillips-fondo
Duration seconds: 3114

## Resource

David J. Phillips tried co-founders four times before he went solo. With $40,000 left in the bank after a stalled aquihire, he refounded the company alone — and built Fondo, the accounting platform now used by hundreds of YC and pre-seed startups. The conversation is part founder-confessional, part early-stage GTM playbook. Topics covered: The four co-founder breakups across four prior startups Refounding with $40K and a single investor email The lived playbook for co-founder breakups (lawyer advice, severance + stock + move on) The four-question $40K filter for picking ideas you can ship solo The Sam Parr false bottom — first customer, three months of nothing The Delaware-franchise-tax mini-product wedge that produced the first ten paying customers Bear case and bull case for solo founding "Your co-founder lives in Claude now" — the closing argument Guest: David J. Phillips — founder & CEO of Fondo, the accounting and tax platform for venture-backed startups.

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## Transcript

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