My partner pushed me out of the company: what do I do?

Being pushed out of a business you helped create mixes two pains: the loss and the betrayal. The urge is to react right away, by message, out loud, on social media. Hold on. What you do in the next few days can protect or compromise your rights.

What to do now

1. Don't sign anything in the heat of the moment. An amendment to the articles of association, a termination agreement, a release, an exit agreement: read it calmly and show it to a lawyer first. A hasty signature can mean giving up what is yours.
2. Gather your documents. Articles of association and amendments, partners' agreement (if any), proof of what you invested, emails, messages, minutes, statements. Make copies and keep them somewhere safe.
3. Read the articles of association. They say how a partner can leave or be expelled, how the departing partner's share is calculated and when it is paid. Brazil's Civil Code also has rules, and they protect you: without a clause in the articles allowing expulsion for just cause, the majority cannot expel a partner by simply amending the articles. Expulsion outside the courts requires that clause, acts of undeniable seriousness and a meeting called for that purpose, with you notified in time to attend and defend yourself (art. 1,085; the meeting is waived only when the company has just two partners). Otherwise, expulsion has to go through the courts (art. 1,030). If any requirement was missing, the expulsion can be challenged.
4. Know that the valuation of your share exists. As a rule, a partner who leaves or is expelled is entitled to the value of their stake, calculated according to the articles and the law, and paid in cash within 90 days, unless there is an agreement or a different rule in the articles (art. 1,031, §2). If there is no agreement, it can be disputed in court, including through a lawsuit for partial dissolution of the company.
5. See a business law attorney. If you can't afford one, the Public Defender's Office or a law school's legal aid clinic can advise you.
6. Don't expose or attack anyone publicly. Accusations on social media can lead to lawsuits against you and weaken your position. Keep the dispute in the proper channels.
7. Protect your health and your income. Partnership disputes take a long time. Line up a source of income while the case runs, and seek support if anger or sadness takes over. CVV at 188.

When it happened to Bairo

Bairo Leandro Gonzalez Martinez says he lived exactly this. With a natural-based cosmetics brand of his own up and running, he saw the next step: touchscreen technology applied to the business. It was his idea.

The answer didn't come from outside. It came from within. The partners pushed him out of the business, and the idea stayed with them. Some defeats hurt the wallet; that one hurt somewhere else.

He has never named those people, and his story isn't about them. It's about what he did next: he found the pain and, instead of running from it, made it his foundation. Not as an open wound. As ground to stand on.

The path

Bairo says that was where he truly understood the sentence that guides his life: every no is the ground of a yes. The partners left him the most expensive lesson of all: choosing whom you build with. Protect your rights calmly and with the right professionals. And keep the lesson. It will be worth more than any share when you build again.

While the legal side moves along, start thinking about your next professional step. Partnership disputes can last years, and you don't need to stand still waiting for the ruling. What you know how to do stays with you: the experience, the contacts, the ability to build. Use all of it to move forward, more carefully and with better contracts.

Read also

• Every no is the ground of a yes
• How to get over a partner's betrayal?
• How to choose a partner after a disappointment?