I agree this is sleezy, but too many people believe promises by their employers.<p>If a business or boss won't put something in writing, they don't plan to honor it.
"I want people to see that the past 17 years were just a warm-up." — Ben Chestnut, per <a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/ben-chestnut/" rel="nofollow">https://www.forbes.com/profile/ben-chestnut/</a><p>I would say that, if you think his behavior was inappropriate, you should refuse to become involved with him. But I think for many fledgling ventures, that won't be possible.