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What are your previous agreements or understandings, even if unwritten? Is there an entity, or are you solely individuals collaborating? Are they willing to l

What are your previous agreements or understandings, even if unwritten? Is there an entity, or are you solely individuals collaborating? Are they willing to let you own their contributions? Might you work together again on other projects?

ycmike 13y ago
Yeah I don't think so. They are just not that motivated and I am. We have not incorporated so I don't know if that is a good or bad thing.
- redtexture 13y ago
  OK. It appears that there was no corporation that your work was contributed to. The personal intellectual contributions of your partner-founders are the assets to discuss, and that you will desire to have fully released to you to use going forward. If they are done with the idea, a conversation about the value or worthwhileness of releasing their contributions to you is appropriate. Those initial contributions are not worth much if they cannot do the really hard work of making the idea live, sustainable, and perhaps completely changed by later understandings about finding your audience of paying users. The concept is "ideas are cheap--implementation and the people committed to the implementation are everything". If there were a corporation, and employment agreements stating that the work and IP became the property of the corp., the conversation would be about ownership or vesting and non-vesting of the departing founder's shares in the corp. Early departing founders get nearly nothing. It is typical in venture funded startups for the funders to to demand that founder's stock vest over several years so that the startup is not controlled or excessively influenced by (subsequently) departed and non-contributing founders. You have now met the reasons for this kind of arrangement.
  - ycmike 13y ago
    Thanks. I totally agree and will share so with them. Execution is everything and we were so early that no agreements were made. I also do think it would be wise to get their leave in writing. You don't want a founder to come back later if the venture was in any way successful.
    - redtexture 13y ago
      Words including ideas such as "release all interest in copyright, trademark, and business methods and business ideas in relation to project X to person Y" are part of your conversation. If your partners were to receive even 5% in total, of the resulting follow-on entity would be a very large amount (if they even received anything).
      - ycmike 13y ago
        On it!

ycmike 13y ago

Yeah I don't think so. They are just not that motivated and I am. We have not incorporated so I don't know if that is a good or bad thing.

redtexture 13y ago
OK. It appears that there was no corporation that your work was contributed to. The personal intellectual contributions of your partner-founders are the assets to discuss, and that you will desire to have fully released to you to use going forward. If they are done with the idea, a conversation about the value or worthwhileness of releasing their contributions to you is appropriate. Those initial contributions are not worth much if they cannot do the really hard work of making the idea live, sustainable, and perhaps completely changed by later understandings about finding your audience of paying users. The concept is "ideas are cheap--implementation and the people committed to the implementation are everything". If there were a corporation, and employment agreements stating that the work and IP became the property of the corp., the conversation would be about ownership or vesting and non-vesting of the departing founder's shares in the corp. Early departing founders get nearly nothing. It is typical in venture funded startups for the funders to to demand that founder's stock vest over several years so that the startup is not controlled or excessively influenced by (subsequently) departed and non-contributing founders. You have now met the reasons for this kind of arrangement.
- ycmike 13y ago
  Thanks. I totally agree and will share so with them. Execution is everything and we were so early that no agreements were made. I also do think it would be wise to get their leave in writing. You don't want a founder to come back later if the venture was in any way successful.
  - redtexture 13y ago
    Words including ideas such as "release all interest in copyright, trademark, and business methods and business ideas in relation to project X to person Y" are part of your conversation. If your partners were to receive even 5% in total, of the resulting follow-on entity would be a very large amount (if they even received anything).
    - ycmike 13y ago
      On it!