Zimaspace1 reviews

Kitchen-table optimism turned lessons learned March 29, 2026

join a small team, help build something global. At the time I’d been doing overseas market stuff and crowdfunding work on the LattePanda project at DFRobot, so it felt like a natural next step. I started helping out on branding, market development, and crowdfunding campaigns on the side, just evenings and weekends, and honestly I really enjoyed it — the work felt meaningful, fast, and creative. That first few months’ energy is the detail I keep coming back to; being in charge of global marketing felt right, it fit my hands, you know? I loved cloning strategies that worked elsewhere and trying them in new markets — that bit was fun, legitimately fun.
Pretty soon Lauren and I were on the same page enough that I handed in my notice at my old job and signed a three-year employment contract in May 2021 to become CMO. I dove in headfirst from 2021 through 2024 running the company’s marketing and sales outreach. I believed in the vision, I believed in the team, and I worked like crazy to make it happen. There were long nights, sure, but there were real wins too — first crowdfunding traction, a few overseas distribution leads, campaigns that actually converted. Those wins mattered.
And then — well, things got complicated. In December 2023 I came across a procurement contract dated August that had my name on it in the company system. I hadn’t initiated it, I hadn’t approved it; procurement wasn’t even my role. That discovery set off a chain of events that I never expected. I raised a formal concern through the internal system, thinking it would be handled professionally. Instead the tone shifted fast, and over a handful of meetings I was pressured to hand over my equity into an ESOP controlled by the founder. Seven conversations, repeated pressure. I refused to sign anything that felt coercive.
An emergency board meeting was called and by the end of it I was asked to transfer all my shares and step away from operations. After that my salary and social insurance stopped being paid — from December 2023 onward — which left me in a bad spot, both practically and emotionally. It took a labor authority inquiry in March 2024 to confirm that my contract had been terminated without the proper notices at the end of December. That part hurt, obviously. It’s awkward to say you were both a cofounder and left without the proper paperwork, but that’s what happened.
Despite all that, I don’t want this to read like pure bitterness. The early collaboration, the marketing wins, the learning curve — those are real and valuable. If there’s one piece of advice I’d shout from the roof (okay, maybe not shout, but you get it) it’s: protect yourself legally even when trust feels total. Check contracts, clarify roles, and keep records. I’m optimistic about the future — I learned a lot, I met smart people, and I’d do a similar project again, just with better paperwork and clearer boundaries.