I think what you are looking for is MIRR: Modified internal rate of return. What were the initial and later cash investments? What was the opportunity cost to

I think what you are looking for is MIRR: Modified internal rate of return. What were the initial and later cash investments? What was the opportunity cost to the founders? When was that money and time spent? When were they payed and how much? Compare this to what they could have done otherwise with the same investment money and time used otherwise and deployed during the same period, and you have your answer. In this case that time is valued on one's capacities, so it is a qualitative and highly subjective answer once you are comparing to anything more than "industry standard pay". Because of business structure, a success to a founder may not be as successful for an initial investor, etc. The key in all this is to factor in when things are done and when rewards are received, along with viable alternatives. 5 million 5 years later is not worth anywhere near as much as 5 million in the first year. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modified_internal_rate_of_return https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modified_internal_rate_of_retu...