I have an opportunity to secure a contract that would fund a startup and small team for two years.
This contract requires 2 primary areas of expertise: Engineering + SEO. I have the engineering expertise, but not the SEO expertise. A good friend of mine and ex-co-worker is an SEO guru, so I reached out to see if he had any interest in collaborating. We're meeting later this week to discuss.
Turns out he's been thinking about starting a business for a while, and totally unrelated, he already had an LLC with 1 client. This turned out to be awesome news, because he's a great guy and we work together very well. Perhaps this is an opportunity to start a business together, with 2 founders who have strong expertise in the areas we want to do business.
I'm familiar with setting up LLCs, and I've been through the process of setting up co-founder agreements. What I'm trying to figure out is, do I go down the road of partnering with him? or do I just contract his LLC?
I wouldn't feel comfortable starting a business where I know nothing about one of the areas. So it's really appealing to me to have a partner in the business who has the SEO expertise.
The other question I have is, if I go down the path of partnership, what's a fair split? He has an LLC with 1 client (albeit, not large enough for him to be full-time). My contract would be a huge step up. I'm a fan of being fair and thinking about the long term. Do we go 50/50 with a finders fee? or is there another way to structure?
Thanks!
This contract requires 2 primary areas of expertise: Engineering + SEO. I have the engineering expertise, but not the SEO expertise. A good friend of mine and ex-co-worker is an SEO guru, so I reached out to see if he had any interest in collaborating. We're meeting later this week to discuss.
Turns out he's been thinking about starting a business for a while, and totally unrelated, he already had an LLC with 1 client. This turned out to be awesome news, because he's a great guy and we work together very well. Perhaps this is an opportunity to start a business together, with 2 founders who have strong expertise in the areas we want to do business.
I'm familiar with setting up LLCs, and I've been through the process of setting up co-founder agreements. What I'm trying to figure out is, do I go down the road of partnering with him? or do I just contract his LLC?
I wouldn't feel comfortable starting a business where I know nothing about one of the areas. So it's really appealing to me to have a partner in the business who has the SEO expertise.
The other question I have is, if I go down the path of partnership, what's a fair split? He has an LLC with 1 client (albeit, not large enough for him to be full-time). My contract would be a huge step up. I'm a fan of being fair and thinking about the long term. Do we go 50/50 with a finders fee? or is there another way to structure?
Thanks!
Dislike ads? Become a Fastlane member:
Subscribe today and surround yourself with winners and millionaire mentors, not those broke friends who only want to drink beer and play video games. :-)
Last edited:
Access Restricted: Unlock 1,000,000+ Posts
Stop Peeking Through the Keyhole.
Open the Door.
You hit a wall because the best advice isn't free—it's earned. Since 2007, MJ DeMarco has been active here daily (99.9% active rate), building a war room for entrepreneurs who refuse to settle for mediocrity.
- Active Daily: Life-changing content posted dozens of times every day. No dead threads.
- MJ's Inner Circle: Direct access to the author of The Millionaire Fastlane.
- Vetted Network: Connect with founders scaling to 7 and 8 figures.
- Proven Roadmaps: Strategy over motivation. Execution over "hustle porn."
"SCALED TO 6-FIGURE MONTHS"
"Tips and advice here saved me from huge mistakes, others allowed me to scale my business to 6-figure months."— User MitchC
"INSANE QUALITY OF PEOPLE"
"The number of high quality people I've met from this forum has been insane. All of it predicated on building real value."— User Richard Peck
"You are the average of the five people you surround yourself with."
Are you surrounding yourself with success?
