> it's entirely reasonable that the VCs want a full-time commitment before paying you. I agree with this, but instead of being douchebags and wasting everyones

> it's entirely reasonable that the VCs want a full-time commitment before paying you. I agree with this, but instead of being douchebags and wasting everyones time with stupid games, why dont they just say "look, we need a full time CTO, if you can't do it we need to find a replacement." >You are absolutely being compensated for your part-time work, even at $0. You have equity in the company, and presumably your ownership stake is growing in value. Of course it's hard to spend "paper wealth", but that's the founder's game Friendly reminder that equity is almost always worth $0 in a startup. Its absolutely ridiculous he made it this long without getting paid unless no one is.