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As jonahbenton said, this isn't a matter of value or right/wrong, it's a matter of leverage. How hard would it be to replace you? You will probably have a pre
by x0x0 6y ago
As jonahbenton said, this isn't a matter of value or right/wrong, it's a matter of leverage. How hard would it be to replace you?
You will probably have a pressure point that you can exploit with respect to the sale. ie you can refuse to work for potential new owners. Even if you are pretty replaceable, I think most potential buyers would be scared off by having to replace the sole software engineer who understands the codebase. eg the small software business sales I'm aware of typically come with commitments around the engineering staff. Be aware that doing this may burn your relationship with the current owner. As in all negotiations, make sure that you are actually willing to live with any options you bring up. Your rights here are so fact dependent that you must get legal counsel in your jurisdiction.
One smart way to approach this negotiation would be to write a contract agreeing to a minimum work period for the potential new owners; as a cost, you would need some percent of the sale price. Again, you must get yourself a local attorney experienced in these types of negotiations.
One point I would bring up though, is that engineers often wildly overestimate how easy it is to turn lines of code into cash. It is quite possible that the business end of this business holds all the leverage. When OP says eg he or she has "worked many hundreds of hours", this sounds like low maintenance software that the business owner can continue to sell for quite a long while without any ongoing engineering.
- mb_72 6y ago> How hard would it be to replace you? It wouldn't be easy, I don't believe, and I'm generally quite negative about my own development abilities and values. One point I couldn't fit into my original post is that I do have what I believe to be a good relationship with my business partner, but I feel he's disconnected from what valuable and capable developers make outside of his business. Also, he may well not be able to sell the business at all, and in that case he's suggested I could take over as manager (for higher pay), however I would be living with the potential sale hanging over my head, and not knowing whether this better-paid role would ever eventuate. > this sounds like low maintenance software that the business owner can continue to sell for quite a long while without any ongoing engineering. That's probably a fair statement, although there are normally updates we put out a few times a year due to changing business parameters in our market, and once every year we do a major release with new features.
- harrisonjackson 6y agoIf you are considering a new role with your partner with a new contract then that is a great chance to renegotiate so you see the upside of a sale. Going a bit beyond the OP - A difficult lesson for many engineers is that it doesn't matter what standard engineering salaries are. You could be the best engineer in the world but if you work for a low-revenue, non-tech company, then you aren't going to be compensated the same as you would at a tech company where revenue per employee is $2.2M (Netflix) or $2M (Apple) and engineers directly contribute to that revenue.
- x0x0 6y agoI'm a hiring manager. We don't pay based on value, we pay based on competition for the hire. If the software doesn't require a lot of ongoing maintenance (it may! I have no idea!) and this business is already set up to handle remote asynchronous work, you may not have a strong negotiating position. Or you may -- perhaps it requires highly specialized skills. But you should make a non-emotional evaluation of (1) your replaceability, and (2) your business partner's opinion of your replaceability. If you want pay based on value, start a company you own.
- x0x0 6y agoAlso, serious question -- why don't you offer to buy the owner out?
- mb_72 6y agoSimply - I can't afford it! :)