I've been there. I shut down my YC startup about 3 1/2 years ago. It was covered in the press more than my launch was! Shutting down was a huge weight off my mind - we weren't successful and nothing was going to make it so.
You raised money and have employees. Worry about the employees. Get them new jobs in great startups by actively going through your network and making sure they get new jobs that they'll love with teams they'll enjoy.
Dont' worry about the investors. They've lost money before. If you raised from non-professionals, then you may have to apologize. Mean it.
Tell your wife, obviously. You probably don't need to worry about money too much - now you can take a low-stress job at high pay and get back what you lost doing the startup.
Also, please feel free to reach out: paul@circleci.com
You raised money and have employees. Worry about the employees. Get them new jobs in great startups by actively going through your network and making sure they get new jobs that they'll love with teams they'll enjoy.
Dont' worry about the investors. They've lost money before. If you raised from non-professionals, then you may have to apologize. Mean it.
Tell your wife, obviously. You probably don't need to worry about money too much - now you can take a low-stress job at high pay and get back what you lost doing the startup.
Also, please feel free to reach out: paul@circleci.com