|
From my (extensive) experience, there is no way to know in advance. The only way to guard against surprises is to tie ownership to execution. Set specific performance goals for both yourself (modules released, SEO rankings, whatever's relevant) and "the suit" (capital in the bank, number of users, number of paid subscriptions, etc). Tie each goal to percentage ownership. If goals are met, you vest. If goals are not met, you find another partner or scrap the project altogether. Also make sure that the goals are on a somewhat concurrent timeline. "Suits" generally have trouble executing on a "beta" product so if you do not set concurrent goals, you will keep developing new features and never, ever have the chance to see your partner in action. What I mean is, push really hard for a bare-bone set of requirements that you both agree to be "good enough" as the first iteration of your product, and as soon as that feature set is in place, your partner needs to execute (again, whatever's relevant to you - sell some subscriptions, get some marquee clients on board, raise capital, etc). Good luck! |