You're lead engineer. You're a valuable contributor. You've got a problem. Your CEO has offered very reasonable advice. I recommend re-evaluating the reasons you have given for rejecting it. If the company is any good it is likely that the CEO has discussed the issue with the board and the cofounder. Any board worth its salt would see fucking over a cofounder as the kiss of death. Risk of lawsuit dampens enthusiasm for future investments, while a buyout burns through cash for no value except in a case where the cofounder is actively harming the company...and in that case the company is almost certainly already hosed.
As you acknowledge, there may have been a misalignment between your expectations and talents and those of the company. It's an experience worth learning from.
You're the lead engineer. A lead engineer's role is not restructuring the cap table. The focus on programming chops underpinning your argument and clawing at a little pie instead of making the pie bigger suggest a narrowness of view that seems to be missing the bigger picture.
As you acknowledge, there may have been a misalignment between your expectations and talents and those of the company. It's an experience worth learning from.
You're the lead engineer. A lead engineer's role is not restructuring the cap table. The focus on programming chops underpinning your argument and clawing at a little pie instead of making the pie bigger suggest a narrowness of view that seems to be missing the bigger picture.
Good luck.