I suspect you are overestimating the value of your software. The CEO/company presumably has: * a known brand/trademark * customers and relationships * sales

I suspect you are overestimating the value of your software. The CEO/company presumably has: * a known brand/trademark * customers and relationships * salespeople? * a location, equipment, capital investment * some industry know-how You have: * some software, that helps them capitalize on all of the above somewhat, with more efficiency / lese cost or something? Is there something special about you and your software? Or, if you and your software disappeared tomorrow, could the CEO get some other developer to write more or less the same software? Conversely, if the company/CEO disappeared tomorrow, are you in a position to utilize your software elsewhere?