business-plan, saasI’m the founder of a SaaS startup. I’ve spent the last 3 years writing the software that is the core offering for the business.
How is the software classified in the business plan? Is it an asset? If the company is incorporated; does the corporation own the software? If so; how/when does that transaction take place? Should I be compensated or is my stake in the corporation my compensation?
Is there a way that I could sell the software to my corporation and then collect interest on the amount owed? (and draw an income that’s neither salary nor dividends).
Each founder brings different benefits to the table when founding a startup, and generally what you bring influences your percent ownership of the startup. Your contribution of software would be part of what you bring.
To determine the value of that, consider how much it would cost to create the software from scratch. E.g., how many person months at what pay. Then consider how much the startup is worth. That should give you an idea of how the software affects your share of ownership of the company.
You could ask to be paid (e.g., via a loan) but I don’t expect your cofounders to agree to that. Also, if that would reduce your percent ownership in the company you may not want that.
All content is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.