Startups Stack Exchange Archive

How can I share ownership of a project, but not of the company?

I started a company (LLC) which is engaged in multiple avenues of revenue. For one of my projects, I need to bring in somebody to really engage in marketing help to really make it move. This person is not comfortable being an employee and will not accept less than “co-owner” or “co-founder” (or some equivalent title) of the project. I have made it clear that I am not willing to split the company, but I am okay with him being “co-founder” of the application.

What options do I have?

Additional information: This person is also my husband, which complicates things, but I am interested in both situations.

Answer 3552

Write him an employment contract in which he is paid based on the performance of the application (e.g. x% of profit) and his job title is “Co-founder of Application”.

Just because someone has a job title which says “co-founder” doesn’t actually mean they have to own equity in the company. A job title can say anything you like. He could be “Grand Poobah” and the only thing it would make a difference to would be his resume.


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