Hello all. Hoping to get some input on my situation.
I've been working on a mobile game with a group of former college colleagues for the past year and a half. The concept was formed by one person in particular who pitched it to everyone he knew and tried to see who all he could get to join his team and help build it. Originally there were 20 of us and now we've dwindled down to 5 people. As one could suspect, a lot of people were interested but weren't committed to actually working on anything. There was a point in which only 3 of us were actually putting in time to work on the game.
About six months ago, I approached the founder about equity if this product takes off. I figured we might as well figure this stuff out and get on the same page before too much more time passed. For some reason this freaked him out a bit. He said he doesn't want to get people's hopes up when we are struggling to get the game off the ground. Based on his reaction I took a step back. Not only was I one of the only people working on the project, putting in a lot of time, but I also couldn't see the point in committing after this. I never gave an exact percentage or number. I had only proposed that we should start figuring out what profit sharing was going to look like.
Fast forward, the game drops off for a couple of months and then gets reinvigorated with the prospect of a start-up competition. He approaches the most active members about applying to the competition over the summer and we have been making way more progress now that we have a concrete goal in mind. I figured I'd bring up the equity conversation again if we get accepted into the competition, but the main guy actually approaches the topic first.
So, here's the thing, he proposes .5% if we get into the competition and another .5% if we make it to the finals in the fall. This goes for everyone involved, regardless of actual time being spent (so he's only giving up about 4% equity to the people building the game). I'm happy that we are finally at this point, but I am unsure what the percentages should look like. I am DO believe in what we are making. It's a little more than just a mobile game (less Clash of Clans and more like Duolingo). We have very skill individuals on this project, and I do think it's a very unique concept that we are going for and it's too hard for most people to just up and copy. But how should I proceed? I'm giving up my time working on my own freelance design business to do this. I do want to see the competition through. I do realize I'm not in a position of power or full ownership here, but there is a part of me that does truly believe a lot of great things couldn't happen if it weren't for a group effort.
Any input given would be greatly appreciated. None of the other members of the group have given this topic much thought and I've been the only one who's brought up these things. Also, I don't want to paint the guy in a bad light. None of us know what we are doing or how to run a business and there's a solid chance I suck at articulating my points to him.
Thanks!
I've been working on a mobile game with a group of former college colleagues for the past year and a half. The concept was formed by one person in particular who pitched it to everyone he knew and tried to see who all he could get to join his team and help build it. Originally there were 20 of us and now we've dwindled down to 5 people. As one could suspect, a lot of people were interested but weren't committed to actually working on anything. There was a point in which only 3 of us were actually putting in time to work on the game.
About six months ago, I approached the founder about equity if this product takes off. I figured we might as well figure this stuff out and get on the same page before too much more time passed. For some reason this freaked him out a bit. He said he doesn't want to get people's hopes up when we are struggling to get the game off the ground. Based on his reaction I took a step back. Not only was I one of the only people working on the project, putting in a lot of time, but I also couldn't see the point in committing after this. I never gave an exact percentage or number. I had only proposed that we should start figuring out what profit sharing was going to look like.
Fast forward, the game drops off for a couple of months and then gets reinvigorated with the prospect of a start-up competition. He approaches the most active members about applying to the competition over the summer and we have been making way more progress now that we have a concrete goal in mind. I figured I'd bring up the equity conversation again if we get accepted into the competition, but the main guy actually approaches the topic first.
So, here's the thing, he proposes .5% if we get into the competition and another .5% if we make it to the finals in the fall. This goes for everyone involved, regardless of actual time being spent (so he's only giving up about 4% equity to the people building the game). I'm happy that we are finally at this point, but I am unsure what the percentages should look like. I am DO believe in what we are making. It's a little more than just a mobile game (less Clash of Clans and more like Duolingo). We have very skill individuals on this project, and I do think it's a very unique concept that we are going for and it's too hard for most people to just up and copy. But how should I proceed? I'm giving up my time working on my own freelance design business to do this. I do want to see the competition through. I do realize I'm not in a position of power or full ownership here, but there is a part of me that does truly believe a lot of great things couldn't happen if it weren't for a group effort.
Any input given would be greatly appreciated. None of the other members of the group have given this topic much thought and I've been the only one who's brought up these things. Also, I don't want to paint the guy in a bad light. None of us know what we are doing or how to run a business and there's a solid chance I suck at articulating my points to him.
Thanks!
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