[anovikov]

Selling 80% equity is effectively an exit. Just think if you are willing to sell a company for that much, and if so, go for it. Having no control over what remains will make you effectively hired managers working for 10% of profit each, so after that, what kind of salary they are willing to pay you will be your biggest concern. Making something which is easy to replicate doesn't put you in a good negotiation position for sure, so maybe just take this cash, then walk away, and use the money to fund yourselves for a couple more years to build something that isn't that easy to copy.

[finalight]

We will be locked in if we were to take the 80%. So even if there's full exit, we are still required to work inside or can't proceed a startup straight after that.

[anovikov]

Are they going to pay you for staying in, i.e. salary?

[finalight]

Most likely yes. It would seems unfair for us not to get paid for working

[anovikov]

If i was you it would be the main point of discussion. Now it looks more like a job offer with a hefty sign-up bonus. If the salary is good, why not?

[finalight]

To be honest, it's not attractive enough. I gain more by working in corporate world