I've had 2 experiences. The first was with an older entrepreneur who was also very technical. He handled most of the business work and his share of technical w

I've had 2 experiences. The first was with an older entrepreneur who was also very technical. He handled most of the business work and his share of technical workload. He was open to letting me (and others) learn and take as much of the business work as we wanted to gain experience. I had known him for many years prior to doing this startup. Even though the startup eventually failed, it was a great experience. Second one was with an with a entrepreneur who was technical enough to be dangerous. He had clear ideas on what our product could/should do but was completely hands off on how we implemented it. Again he was willing to let me into the business side if I choose to get involved in it. He had a much larger ownership percentage than I did, but he also brought about most of the business contacts and had a huge amount of domain knowledge (recognized expert in the field.) He also personally financed the company when there were cash flow issues. He had a personal line of credit to pay the bills that I did not have to worry about. So in both my cases, there was a clear establishment of ownership and responsibilities. I think think the ownership and personal trust is the key. In both my cases I didn't have to worry about getting screwed over by either one. That is always a possibility, but it really pays to know who you are going into business with. The saying that it is like a marriage is very accurate. It is important to establish the value that each person brings to the table. At both startups, there was a large amount of work done 'at risk' that was converted into equity. I'd get that formula defined up front so that it is established. This helps ensure that your work has value in everyone eyes.