sounds like the offer is 6M-9M to put things in perspective. @ 10M and 3% you earn $300k a year in interest. @ 10M and a good money market you earn 8-12% or $

sounds like the offer is 6M-9M to put things in perspective. @ 10M and 3% you earn $300k a year in interest. @ 10M and a good money market you earn 8-12% or $800k-$1.2M a year. If you only spend 250k a year you will grow your money very fast. in Wisconsin 1.5-2.5M and 150K a year in income qualifies you as an angel investor, and you can invest 100k and get 25k off of your taxes. i think the guys are right, 10x is standard for tech growth. you might consider a few options to the deal, like a payout bonus if the company performs better than X a percentage payout of lifetime earnings of 1% annually (which will keep you from being broke) technology licenses are normal. *the buyout price is for control, but not for all of the ownership, you might retain some shares which could be sold later.