What is the name of your state? New Jersey
2 years ago me and my friend came up with an idea for a website. We approached two other of our friends who we knew that they knew how to program. So we started an LLC. One of the guys we approached, now business partner, decided that he needed to go part time with his job and sell his car to be able to work productively on the site. So the other guy that we approached helped him out financially. Also the first two of us gave him some money as well. We never put in writing accept for a document that went to the bank that we owned 25% each but it was verbally agreed upon (Big Mistake, I know!)
Over the past two years, this one programmer has done much more work then we have, for obvious reasons. Now that the site seems to be taking off and doing well, it seems coincidental or not he wants 40% of the company or he will just stop working on it. He says he might later revist the idea of working on the site as it's not bringing in huge amounts of capital. Also he says he might get a lawyer to find out how much of the coding that he produced is his and what he can do with it, for example start his own site off the basis of ours. I hope I made that clear...
So what do I do? Someone suggested to not let him have the 40% because it was his understanding from the beginning that he would do most of the work initially because he was the only one that really knew how to program. Then outsource and give him the bill for 25%. Also does he have any legal right to the code that he created for the greater good of the company. I was under the assumption that what he created for the company is the companies. Not his. Please help? Thank you in advance to all....
2 years ago me and my friend came up with an idea for a website. We approached two other of our friends who we knew that they knew how to program. So we started an LLC. One of the guys we approached, now business partner, decided that he needed to go part time with his job and sell his car to be able to work productively on the site. So the other guy that we approached helped him out financially. Also the first two of us gave him some money as well. We never put in writing accept for a document that went to the bank that we owned 25% each but it was verbally agreed upon (Big Mistake, I know!)
Over the past two years, this one programmer has done much more work then we have, for obvious reasons. Now that the site seems to be taking off and doing well, it seems coincidental or not he wants 40% of the company or he will just stop working on it. He says he might later revist the idea of working on the site as it's not bringing in huge amounts of capital. Also he says he might get a lawyer to find out how much of the coding that he produced is his and what he can do with it, for example start his own site off the basis of ours. I hope I made that clear...
So what do I do? Someone suggested to not let him have the 40% because it was his understanding from the beginning that he would do most of the work initially because he was the only one that really knew how to program. Then outsource and give him the bill for 25%. Also does he have any legal right to the code that he created for the greater good of the company. I was under the assumption that what he created for the company is the companies. Not his. Please help? Thank you in advance to all....