I had a similar situation many years ago. It lasted about 3 months - which was about 2.5 months too many. Complete waste of time.

This actually happens to a lot of startups. Usually it doesn't happen until after a certain amount of funding has been raised (often after the series A). If the CEO has checked out and is just pretending to work, the company is doomed - find a new job.

You realize you're working for a lifestyle business; his.

Thanks for that term, hadn't heard it before. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lifestyle_business

That's exactly what it is, and I want out.

Then leave. From the sound of it, you've already proven that you can wear all the necessary hats anyway, so you should feel pretty confident about it.

That sounds a lot like what my ex-cofounder did. I resigned from the company.

Have a talk with the founder. Reading about good management isn't enough.

Are you a 2-person company?

Yeah. I'm employee #1.

Then, if what you say is true, why do you put up with it?

Does he pay a salary? Did you receive an appropiate equity share for the work you put in relative to his? Or, to put it bluntly, what do you need him for?

I get a salary that would be laughable by most standards, partly because I'm a young autodidact with a BFA, and partly because I live in a part of the US with very little web dev opportunity. I'm stuck here while my SO finishes grad school. I think it's time to start looking again, this time remotely.

Think it through before quitting. You're getting paid to be a startup CEO-in-training. I did this for 4 years for somebody and it gave me the practical experience I needed to launch my own startup. My situation had the added bonus of the founder being a gifted salesman, and I learned how to sell from watching him.

Toss some links in your profile of stuff you've done. There are always folks on here who get asked for recommendations or who are looking to hire.