That sounds really convoluted for a 4 person start-up. The further you stray from the "standard" ways, the more unintended consequences you'll run into. Profit

That sounds really convoluted for a 4 person start-up. The further you stray from the "standard" ways, the more unintended consequences you'll run into. Profit sharing is not terribly helpful when you're not profitable, and many promising startups aren't - by choice. Also, you have to figure out how "profit" is defined (or more precisely, how it can be manipulated). So yeah, I'd be careful. Even with the best intentions, stuff like this can go sideways.