[pjungwir]

The non-technical founder can afford to pay his partner a salary, yet is not an accredited investor[1]? And will also fund the business re server costs, design, marketing, etc.? If I were the developer I'd be very suspicious. If the non-technical person isn't offering time or skills either, I'm not sure what they're bringing.

This also sounds like doublespeak: "work without interference" vs "editorial/final say." Sounds like "final say" is still basically unlimited, and I'd rather get approval before doing the work than after!

[1] $200k annual income or $1m assets (sans house)

[vik1211]

What could make this scenario less suspicious for you? Strike the phrase "final say." The intent was only editorial: "Hacker, everything looks good overall, but how about dialing it up a notch here or dialing it down a notch there." Non-technical wants to ship, not wrestle back and forth on minutiae. The idea is to collaborate around a common idea and then recruit customers, partners and investors. Collaborative not antagonistic!

Also, to clarify, Non-technical has savings and and investments and is willing to cash out and spend to build a MVP. Non-technical wants to found a business based on their original idea and then recruit talent to build out a company.

Is your take that such a scenario isn't possible? And that Non-technical should wait out and accrue enough wealth to qualify as an accredited investor and then just invest in a team to develop his or a similar idea? Would this make Non-technical less "suspicious"?

[pjungwir]

Hello! By "suspicious" I didn't mean to imply bad intent, just my doubts that you could offer a fair (i.e. competitive) salary (any benefits, or is it BYOHealthInsurance?), and also that you were sufficiently well-capitalized to fund the business. Underestimating the necessary capital is one of the leading causes of startup failure. So if I were approached with an offer like this one, I would not be getting my hopes up until I heard some numbers, and I would be skeptical unless I saw a pretty thorough plan with budget and expected revenue. But that's just me: I am fairly risk-averse.

Re "final say": Ultimately if you're business partners with someone you both need to be happy. And you both have an incentive to balance polish with shipping. Still, if you were a client and not a business partner, and you were paying me on a fixed bid, I'd want a spec up front, not at the end. (If you were paying me hourly you can have all the revisions you want.) If we were potential partners, I'd be asking myself what the risks are if you prove difficult to work with--for instance, what am I giving up to join the venture? And do you have a history of managing software projects that would reassure me you're capable and reasonable? (Any recommendations from developers you've worked with?)

In any case, I wish you good fortune on your venture!

[vik1211]

Your points are duly noted and your insights are much appreciated.