Business Venture Gone Bad

[brucey31]

I am based in the UK however I believe this to be a little more universal than most questions. Before I begin, I understand I have been extremely naive and have definitely learnt a valuable business lesson.

I started working with a good friend of mine and another partner on a small business venture about 9 months ago. The company was already a month old but barely formed.
I was brought in on a verbal agreement of 10% equity in exchange for my 9-5 working devotion. The company has seed investment from the other partners family.

Still at uni, I put in as much time as I could and even spent several days working at trade events on behalf of the company, spending 3-4 full days a week working on average.

Myself and the other partner had a fall out and I have decided it's not the right place for me.

After spending a huge amount of time on this venture, receiving no pay whilst doing it and also not receiving the equity as promised from day 1, I have been 'taken for a ride'.

My issue now is where do I stand legally in terms of seeking remuneration for my services? What I do is highly skilled and prior to bringing me on board they paid someone else to do these tasks for them. Many of my ideas have contributed to way the company now does business, do I have any IP claims over this?

 

[quincy]

I am based in the UK however I believe this to be a little more universal than most questions. Before I begin, I understand I have been extremely naive and have definitely learnt a valuable business lesson.

I started working with a good friend of mine and another partner on a small business venture about 9 months ago. The company was already a month old but barely formed.
I was brought in on a verbal agreement of 10% equity in exchange for my 9-5 working devotion. The company has seed investment from the other partners family.

Still at uni, I put in as much time as I could and even spent several days working at trade events on behalf of the company, spending 3-4 full days a week working on average.

Myself and the other partner had a fall out and I have decided it's not the right place for me.

After spending a huge amount of time on this venture, receiving no pay whilst doing it and also not receiving the equity as promised from day 1, I have been 'taken for a ride'.

My issue now is where do I stand legally in terms of seeking remuneration for my services? What I do is highly skilled and prior to bringing me on board they paid someone else to do these tasks for them. Many of my ideas have contributed to way the company now does business, do I have any IP claims over this?

It is hard to tell you where you stand legally without knowing the laws in the U.K. that apply. We handle U.S. law questions almost exclusively, because each of the 50 states in the U.S. have different laws to consider and that keeps us quite busy.

I do not see where IP rights come in. In the U.S., it would be entirely possible (given the right facts) for the company to retain all rights in works created during the course of an employee/partner's work with the company. Whether this is the same in the U.K. or not, I can't tell you. It would depend in large part in any written agreements you had drawn up detailing this.

You could try for free legal advice at http://www.thelawforum.co.uk. I have no idea if this is a good site or not, though.

Good luck.

 

[kapeedmaro]

I am based in the UK however I believe this to be a little more universal than most questions. Before I begin, I understand I have been extremely naive and have definitely learnt a valuable business lesson.

I started working with a good friend of mine and another partner on a small business venture about 9 months ago. The company was already a month old but barely formed.
I was brought in on a verbal agreement of 10% equity in exchange for my 9-5 working devotion. The company has seed investment from the other partners family.

Still at uni, I put in as much time as I could and even spent several days working at trade events on behalf of the company, spending 3-4 full days a week working on average.

Myself and the other partner had a fall out and I have decided it's not the right place for me.

After spending a huge amount of time on this venture, receiving no pay whilst doing it and also not receiving the equity as promised from day 1, I have been 'taken for a ride'.

My issue now is where do I stand legally in terms of seeking remuneration for my services? What I do is highly skilled and prior to bringing me on board they paid someone else to do these tasks for them. Many of my ideas have contributed to way the company now does business, do I have any IP claims over this?

The most universal place to start is this; can things be worked out, and what can you prove if they can't?

While working things out sounds like the first thing everyone should do, it is easy to get caught up in the moment, especially when we feel betrayed by a close friend (close enough that they were trusted enough to do this kind of venture with in the first place.)

Have you tried to find some way to work things out before seeking reparations for services rendered? Was there any luck at all?

You said it was a verbal contract, is there anyone who can/will support you in your claim? If so that lends you credibility, especially if they are associated with the business.

Logically speaking, if you can avoid court, it would save both you/your (ex)friend from a lot of wasted time and money if you could come to an agreement even one that wasn't entirely fair to you.

Be the bigger person if you can, though I know this is asking a lot and I don't know what all transpired.

If you attempt this route and he remains obstinate, gather what evidence you have of anything involving the business period.

If you were that close and he is/was doing something unscrupulous, he likely has revealed some of that to you. Often(not always) crooked people will give you the evidence you need to overcome their crookedness.

Good luck in resolving this properly.

 

[quincy]

The most universal place to start is this; can things be worked out, and what can you prove if they can't?

While working things out sounds like the first thing everyone should do, it is easy to get caught up in the moment, especially when we feel betrayed by a close friend (close enough that they were trusted enough to do this kind of venture with in the first place.)

Have you tried to find some way to work things out before seeking reparations for services rendered? Was there any luck at all?

You said it was a verbal contract, is there anyone who can/will support you in your claim? If so that lends you credibility, especially if they are associated with the business.

Logically speaking, if you can avoid court, it would save both you/your (ex)friend from a lot of wasted time and money if you could come to an agreement even one that wasn't entirely fair to you.

Be the bigger person if you can, though I know this is asking a lot and I don't know what all transpired.

If you attempt this route and he remains obstinate, gather what evidence you have of anything involving the business period.

If you were that close and he is/was doing something unscrupulous, he likely has revealed some of that to you. Often(not always) crooked people will give you the evidence you need to overcome their crookedness.

Good luck in resolving this properly.

This site handles U.S. law questions only, kapeedmaro, and brucey31 is posting from the U.K.

brucey31 is asking a contract law question and an IP law question. There is no "universal" place to start with these. He needs to seek assistance in the U.K.

Thanks for trying to be helpful, though.