Acknowledge what's happened, don't beat around the bush, don't sugarcoat it — but offer a way forward. Robert says telling the team and customers was far harder than telling investors, because employees "are making a career bet on you."
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Robert says "one of the hardest things was letting the team know, hey, we're probably not moving forward with this idea," and that this was harder than communicating to investors, friends, or family. He frames the stakes: "When you start to hire people for your own startup, we grew to like dozens of employees. They're making a career bet on you." The approach he and his co-founder used was borrowed from his co-founder's doctor father, who delivers news to patients: acknowledge and recognize what's happened, then go "straight for like no beating around the bush," because "no amount of flattery is going to change what's happening." Then they focused on helping people get support, advice, and referrals to find their next job.