Need Advice with Partner

[Ben Adams]

So I seem to have gotten myself in a pickle. I have just started on a fastlane road and I saw that one of my old hs friends had recently started a business selling smoking pieces online. I messaged him about it and told him I had a business idea which was to mix ingredient x and y and sell it as a supplement. He said that he uses ingredient y all the time and said he was separately thinking of mixing it with ingredient z.

At that point we decided to team up to try and make it happen, and I wrote out a whole formula with multiple ingredients and dosages as a rough draft. I later came up with a name and 3 other possible formulas to also use. At this point i'm realizing that he really knows nothing about supplements, and although he and his brother were able to start a business that he claims is profitable, I started to get worried that our visions don't really match up. He then says that his brother is in on it too and we split it 30/30/40 with me getting 40.

Funnily enough, i'm at the part about partner in Millionaire Fastlane and that started to really worry me.

So my issue is that I really don't want a partner anymore as the business experience that they bring to the table, I should be learning to do that myself. The idea was mine and I wrote up the formulas, and I'll even take out the only ingredient he suggested if it would help.

I'm not sure how to bring this up to him and i'm worried that he'll say that I can't do this because the idea is shared. Keep in mind this all occured in two days and he has not actually done anything yet for the business.

Any advice would be appreciated, if you want to call me an idiot go for it because that's still valuable info to know and I probably am an idiot for trying to take on a partner so quickly, thanks

 

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[amp0193]

I'm not sure how to bring this up to him

Call him up and say "we need to talk. [explain why he's out]". Do it like you rip off a band-aid.

and i'm worried that he'll say that I can't do this because the idea is shared

He probably will. Why worry about something that you know will happen. Just plan what you'll say in response to it.

Keep in mind this all occured in two days and he has not actually done anything yet for the business.

2 days? What are you worried about then? Neither one of you have done anything if it's only been 2 days. There should be no feelings hurt on either side.

I probably am an idiot for trying to take on a partner so quickly, thanks

You're not an idiot, you just got a little over-excited.

If I was to ever consider a partnership, it'd have to be someone that was not family or friend status, and brought something to the table that I did not. If I have the skills, then they have the money. If I can do X but not Y, then they better be able to do Y and not X.

 

[Ben Adams]

Thanks that's a good response, what would you recommend saying if/when he tries to fight it and say it's a shared idea. I know it's unlikely but the two scenarios i'm worried about are a) he uses the formula I showed him and starts it on his own or b) down the line if my company gets really successful he tries suing. I just want to make sure that I can't get F*cked over from this.

 

[amp0193]

Thanks that's a good response, what would you recommend saying if/when he tries to fight it and say it's a shared idea. I know it's unlikely but the two scenarios i'm worried about are a) he uses the formula I showed him and starts it on his own or b) down the line if my company gets really successful he tries suing. I just want to make sure that I can't get F*cked over from this.

I think you're thinking about this too hard. You didn't formally create a partnership (like with filing legal forms, etc.), so there is nothing for you to dissolve.

I don't know jack about supplements, but I could throw out a combination of 3 ingredients on this forum... would that make it mine? Could I sue if someone took it and made a supplement with it?

Neither of you has actually made any product. There is no business. You are both shooting the shit and drawing pictures on napkins.


Your scenarios:

a) So what if he does? That's called competition. He hasn't shown much of an effort thus far, why would he start now?

b) Sue? People can sue for anything, but, I don't see any reason why there would be any legal basis for anything here. I suggest you talk to him, and use your people skills to make him happy about leaving. And then if you're really worried about it, have him sign some sort of agreement saying he's out of the business or a non-compete.

I'm not a lawyer so take this post with a grain of salt.

 

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[G-Man]

I once dated this little blonde for over a year who was extremely emotional.

Basically, it happened because I was really bored at work and she was super hot, so it gave me a way to pass the time.

Really early on, I realized we had nothing in common, and I really disliked her family. The thought of having her and her family in my life forever was really starting to outweigh my boredom at work and her hotness, but I didn't dump her because I knew she would have a meltdown, and it would make things weird in the office.

So - we dated for over a year instead of just the month or so it took me to figure out we shouldn't be dating. And of course, I ended up breaking up with her, because that's what was always going to happen, but I only finally did it because I was trying to get with this brunette that I also worked with at another job (I'm that idiot that went out with chicks he worked with)

Do you think that the breakup at the one year marker was nastier than it would have been if we broke up after a month? Of course it was. The end result that was that the break up was nastier, her feelings were more hurt, and I wasted a year of my life with someone I shouldn't have been with and all the headaches that came with it, and all of my former co-workers thinking I was a douchebag.

Don't know why, but that rambling side-bar just kind of felt relevant.

You're worried about breaking up with a girl you haven't even been on an actual date with yet. You think it's gonna get less messy and terrible to back out the day before the wedding two years from now?

 

[Scot]

I can definitely speak to the situation you're in. Let me tell you what will happen if you DONT kick then to the curb.

Me and a good friend started a business together. We created an LLC, opened a joint bank account. Why do we start a business together? Because we were friends. He had started a fishing charter business, but it never even got one single charter job. But in my mind he knew all about business and how to run one. The idea for the business was all me, the execution was all me, and guess what all the capital was all mine. To date, he has contributed is zero dollars. We ended up having to kill the business, because it was going nowhere because there was a giant anchor holding us down. The partner.

Don't be me.

You're worried about him suing you. From what you described of this guy, he is a stoner who sells pipes online. I don't really think he's legally savvy, or has the capital for a lengthy IP lawsuit.

Here is the thing about a patent, they are only enforceable through court action. Court action is incredibly expensive. Only large companies with huge amounts of capital can afford to wage these battles.

If you did the work creating the formula take it and run with it. At the end of the day even if he does have the formula and he decides to create a similar product, the one thing that we preach every single day here on the forum is this not the idea, it is the execution. If you have the drive and motivation to do this you can out execute him and his formula will be irrelevant.

 

[oimate]

Thanks that's a good response, what would you recommend saying if/when he tries to fight it and say it's a shared idea. I know it's unlikely but the two scenarios i'm worried about are a) he uses the formula I showed him and starts it on his own or b) down the line if my company gets really successful he tries suing. I just want to make sure that I can't get F*cked over from this.

Do you think Mark Zuckerberg cared when he 'borrowed' his friends idea?
It was only 2 days so not exactly formal.

The worst case scenerio is you lose his friendship-Is this a big deal?

At the end of the day he had a business before you and will continue to have one after you.

Have a read of the origins of Puma and Adidas to realise you are majoring in minor things

 

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[G-Man]

The worst case scenerio is you lose his friendship-Is this a big deal?

The irony is that if you go into business with this guy, you will definitely lose his friendship. Think of it this way: You've already lost his friendship, do you really want to lose money/time/sanity too?

 

[Ben Adams]

Thanks for all the advice guys, I tried calling him but he didn't pick up so i'll try again later and end it cleanly.

 

[MidwestLandlord]

I want a business partner about as much as I want my girlfriend to find out about my wife.

(I'm joking obviously, but seriously...never have a biz partner if not absolutely necessary)

 

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