Ask HN: How much equity should I ask as technical cofounder?

4 点作者 Labo333超过 7 年前

Hi there,I'm creating a startup with a good friend (15+ years). He is non technical while I am a computer scientist and considered brilliant in my field.At the beginning, he had a totally different idea in a totally different field, but I explained him why it was nonsensical (guess what, it was about blockchain).Then he had an "idea" that was the combination of1) a ~technology I introduced him to for the first idea (more like a CS field than a technology)2) a field it could be applied toBut his idea was really confuse, it was just the combination of two concepts. We worked a lot together to make it work (3 months, about 10-15 hours a week). I believe very few people could have done this much:- He would never have been able to understand anything of the technical part, and I suppose nobody in the scientific community would have given him so much time and attention like I did.- I would never have had the will to investigate that, and he was more focused on the business part than I am.Honestly, I think our contributions are quite balanced, but now our idea requires to have some relationships with regulatory authorities, and as a matter of fact, my friend's father is rich and influential (mine are not poor and have relationships, but it is really not comparable). His father wants to invest a lot of money in our project (2M for the first 6 months).(see the rest below in the comments)

2 条评论

Labo333超过 7 年前

Besides, I am still studying (while he is "unemployed") and want to study next year (September 2018) in another country (1 hour by plane). He was worried a lot about the fact I wouldn't be able to work on the idea, but I promised him I would be as much available as I can, and that I just needed to go to the university for the exams (which is true) and could handle my thesis by emails. So I'll be a but sacrificing my degree for our project.Now, we are discussing about the shares, more precisely what our relative repartition should be after some rounds of founding.I said 40/60 while he said 33/66. I feel bad about the fact he would have twice as much as me.He said he was the one with the ideas, and that although I always had all the answers to his questions, the questions are more valuable. I don't think it is true, IMO I asked him the business related questions while he asked me the technical ones. It is just that he had a lot more questions because… well… business people don't know anything, while business is easily understandable and I have a broad experience that allows me to understand it. So in a sense his argument is just that BECAUSE I have more knowledge I contributed less.He said he only came to see me as a technical consultant and that 33% was already a lot.He also gave me a lot of examples of companies where the technical guys don't get much shares (Amazon, Facebook, etc…), and I must say I begin to have doubts.What do you think of:- the right repartition of equity- how I should reactThanks :)

评论 #16002600 未加载

tboyd47超过 7 年前

It sounds like a very UNbalanced partnership. The financing is coming all from one side and the work (assuming your startup is software related) will be done on the other.He is being truthful with you when he says 33/66 is a lot for you. IIRC the split between Jobs and Woz was much more lopsided than that.If I were you, since he has access to money, I would just enter into it as Employee #1. Ask for a decent yearly rate, a C-level job title, and stock options. Set your hours firmly and don't overwork. Work for the long haul.