First, talk this over with your wife. She deserves to know what's going on with you and you need her counsel and strength.
Second, recognize that an acquisition is a change of life - that can certainly make one feel anxious and depressed, no matter how much you may have looked forward to this milestone.
Third, nobody is indispensable. If you died in a car crash today, the company would find a way to continue.
In your place, I'd go through with the acquisition (and do my duty to my investors & employees). When the dust settles (3-6 months), I'd go to my Board of Directors and tell them I need to change roles at the company. That would include dropping all my day-to-day responsibilities and dropping back from full-time. Be explicit that you're on a transition out of the company, and you want it to be orderly (for the company's benefit) and time-limited (for your benefit). When the time expires, leave with thanks and go live your life. Good luck and congratulations!
> If you died in a car crash today, the company would find a way to continue.
might not be the most comfortable way to describe a person's importance when they're feeling down. I would instead say "if you quit today suddenly with no warning,".
It's a common metaphor.
There is also a risk measure explicitly based on this concept:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bus_factor
But I guess that there are not that many buses there in US so a car crash may be more appropriate.
Oh, it is technically correct. The issue is that when comforting the depressed, violent or overly negative imagery may distract from the point being made.
The metaphor is perfectly unnoticeable in everyday contexts, but in his state, careless edges of arguments must feel awfully pointy.
I learned that the hard way when trying to support a friend down on his luck.
>Third, nobody is indispensable. If you died in a car crash today, the company would find a way to continue.
If the company is large enough or has enough debt, sure. But if this is a 10 person bootstrapped shop and the founder is the only one that really knows everything, it would probably fold up if he/she disappeared with that knowledge.
Second, recognize that an acquisition is a change of life - that can certainly make one feel anxious and depressed, no matter how much you may have looked forward to this milestone.
Third, nobody is indispensable. If you died in a car crash today, the company would find a way to continue.
In your place, I'd go through with the acquisition (and do my duty to my investors & employees). When the dust settles (3-6 months), I'd go to my Board of Directors and tell them I need to change roles at the company. That would include dropping all my day-to-day responsibilities and dropping back from full-time. Be explicit that you're on a transition out of the company, and you want it to be orderly (for the company's benefit) and time-limited (for your benefit). When the time expires, leave with thanks and go live your life. Good luck and congratulations!