
Ask HN: Ex-Founder. Should I take lowball buyout offer? - throwaway21121
Anonymous for obvious reasons.<p>I am the ex-founder of a company that has had some moderate success, and I own a 5% equity stake. They&#x27;re about to raise money at a $XX,000,000 valuation. I am skeptical of the company&#x27;s future and want out. The hardball CEO offered $100k. What should I do?
======
eldavido
Ask the CEO whether the investors would buy your shares as part of the funding
round. I've seen a company do this. It's a win for everyone. Offer a moderate
discount (10-20%) to make it worth their while.

\- Company gets to re-concentrate their ownership among active
investors/employees, and remove "dead wood" ex-founder with small stake from
the cap table. This alone might make it worth their while.

\- Investors get shares more cheaply than they otherwise would

\- You get cash and get to wash your hands of the company

Where this might get complicated is that you likely own founders'
shares/common and the investors are getting shares with a bunch of
preferences.

If the latest funding round is $20mil, 5% of that would be 1mil. What's the
409(a) value on the common shares? I doubt the shares would be worth more than
500-600k given the numbers above, so with a 20% discount, you're looking at
400-500k. I have no idea what the headline valuation is but you can probably
work something out. Email is in sig if you want to talk.

EDIT: Another option would be to sell a portion, but not all, of your shares
as part of the funding round. That might allay any "we can't afford it"
concerns from the company while still giving you a bit of upside in case the
business is a real home run. Would they take 10% of your position for 100k?
That might be a good option.

~~~
ouid
Selling existing shares does not raise money for the company. They have no
more incentive to take this offer than to buy him out now.

~~~
stale2002
Well, it makes an investor happy, because they received a 10% discount.

Also, although it doesn't help the other founders that much, if one investor
sells stock to another investor, it also doesn't HARM them at all.

Why should they care if two investors trade shares between each other? If you
own 5%, thats what you are. An investor.

~~~
greglindahl
Investors are happy with a 10% discount from preferred when buying common
shares with no liquidation preferences?

~~~
stale2002
Not every company has onerous terms.

But you could still factor that in to whatever the fair market value is.

Call it a 50% discount if you like, to get to the "market value". But that
still sounds like a much much better deal than what the CEO is offering

~~~
greglindahl
Even a 1X liquidation preference knocks a lot off, and that's hardly onerous.

There's a reason why the 409a value is often only 10%.

------
OliverJones
First of all, you're not an ex-founder. You're a founder. You happen to have
moved on to another project.

Second, you're a shareholder of the company. You're a big enough shareholder
that they'll ask for your signature on the paperwork when they recapitalize
("raise money").

Third, any variant of "you suck. I don't want anything to do with you." is a
poor opening gambit in a negotiation strategy, even it's true.

If I were you I'd ask to sell some, but not all, of your shares into this
financing round. You can simply say you need some liquidity. This isn't a
bizarre request. They may turn you down, but they won't think the less of you
for asking.

If they're raising money on a $40 mill pre-money valuation, that pegs your 5%
stake's paper value at 2 megabucks. Selling a quarter of your stake into the
round will get you $400K even if you give them a stiff discount. That's more
than the $100K. And, you still have some upside if you're wrong about their
prospects.

That being said, you're probably right about their prospects. Been there. Done
that. Didn't even get a Tshirt.

------
jacquesm
If the company is raising money at a valuation in excess of 10 million then
your stake is worth at least 500k and possibly much more. If you know the
amount that they will raise simply roll your sale into the transaction. If you
need to sweeten the pot then do so but as far as strategy is concerned you
don't need to sell at all.

The lowball offer is a good indication of how they estimate your negotiation
skills.

Waiting a little longer will likely get you a (much) better offer, also
consider selling only a part of your shares in case the company strikes it big
down the road (made that mistake myself with something that became huge long
after I left).

You might get pushback on that last point but that gives you some leverage to
raise the price for all of your shares.

------
throwaway583028
Having been through a very similar situation, here are a few ideas:

\- Get a good lawyer, it seems expensive, but is cheap compared to getting a
bad deal.

\- In deciding between cash vs. equity, a useful way to re-frame is "If I had
it all in cash now, how much equity would I buy at this price?"

\- The CEO has much better knowledge about the company, and an offer to buy
may be a signal that there's positive information unknown to you.

In my case, I refused the lowball offer though the amount of cash was
tempting, figuring they were making an offer for a reason. A few months later,
I was offered 4x the price as part of a funding round. I took it without
further negotiation, since that was enough to make a significant lifestyle
change.

~~~
gregpilling
I agree with hiring a lawyer. A hired hand, to dispassionately argue on your
behalf is very useful. The lawyer will just do his job; no personality clash
or old history to get in the way.

------
late2part
Don't be a shmuck. Don't sell. Get an attorney, talk with the CEO only through
the attorney. Find someone like jacquesm or I can refer you to someone to help
you negotiate.

5% of XX,000,000 is at least $500k; you're a fool to take less.

~~~
bentlegen
The valuation of $XX,000,000 is typically based on investor purchase price,
which almost always includes a liquidity preference likely not factored into
OP's shares. If an investor buys 10% of the business with a 2x liquidation
preference for $2,000,000, it's not accurate to say "the business is now worth
$20,000,000". But TechCrunch and other news outlets will omit this all the
time. (And let's not leave out that his stake will be diluted after the
round.)

Furthermore, "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush". Don't neglect the
value of having money here and now you can invest in other assets: a
downpayment on a home, stock market investment, etc. Many people in SF would
have done better to have just purchased a modest home in 2010-2012 or bought
TSLA than to have played the startup lottery over and over.

~~~
trapperkeeper79
What does "2x liquidation preference for $2,000,000" mean?

~~~
late2part
Liquidation preference means they are preferred when there is a liquidation.
So if the company is sold the person with the liquidation preference gets
their money out first at the liquidation preference ratio. In this case, $2Mx2
means if the company is sold for $10M even though they only own 10% they get
the first $4M.

[http://www.investopedia.com/terms/l/liquidation-
preference.a...](http://www.investopedia.com/terms/l/liquidation-
preference.asp)

------
charlesdm
Sell at the valuation, e.g. 5% of $XX,000,000. Maybe offer them a 20% discount
on the shares if you really want to sell. Otherwise don't sell. Not selling is
your leverage, as they clearly want you to sell.

~~~
csallen
It doesn't sound to me like they clearly want the OP to sell. It actually
sounds like the opposite. The OP wants to get out, and they responded with a
lowball offer which, if anything, would motivate the OP _not_ to sell.

~~~
user5994461
You are assuming all wrong.

Start by offering a tenth of what you would agree to pay. All you risk is that
they accept your offer.

It's standard business practice. Works more often than not.

~~~
mac01021
Why a tenth? Why not 1%?

~~~
notahacker
Where "what I'm owed" is quite vague, or has only recently increased as in the
case of growth companies, 10 or 20% might actually be accepted, or at least
interpreted as a good faith start to negotiations.

An offer of 1% is more obviously not the correct amount, and encourages people
to lawyer up rather than counter offer (it screams "we're only offering this
token amount because someone suggested our original plan of not giving you
anything might not work")

------
primedteam
I would work out the difference between the salary at say Google vs what you
took during your tenure at the startup then double it because of lack of
upside.

Aside: If the co-founder is an HN reader, then they probably know the
throwaway account is you. That is going to skew this negotiation.

~~~
danshapiro
I believe this is a sunk cost fallacy. The present value of the shares not
based on the OP's previous foregone financial opportunities.

~~~
owens99
Agree with this. What the OP could have made at Google is not his CEOs
problem.

------
cthulhuology
I've had this situation happen a few times in my career, my advice is take the
money and don't look back. Invest the money, burn it, buy rental properties
with it,or go on a trip. It is always better to have a successful exit.

~~~
chrisgoman
+1. Most folks here don't understand that 5% equity is easily diluted to
0.005% equity in 6 months. So now you are going to spend $50k suing the
company for the $10k they owe you. OP needs to listen to people who have
experience (like you) instead of random strangers who think equity = cash

~~~
jacquesm
You don't dilute 5% to .005% in 6 months without moves that at best are
questionable and at worst are illegal, especially if your shares are diluted
and some others are not.

~~~
Kiro
> especially if your shares are diluted and some others are not

How does that work in practice?

~~~
jacquesm
By having several different classes of shares, some of them with anti-dilution
provisions and some without.

------
drenvuk
Set up a divesting schedule with regular payments based on the valuation of
the company. The longer you're gone the less you have. If you've done work to
get the company where it is then it's fair.

I would not take a lump some in most cases.

~~~
owens99
Assuming the CEO is lowballing to conserve cash, this is a great idea.

------
owens99
Is the CEO lowballing you because your relationship is adversarial?

If so, you will likely need to break through that emotional barrier to get his
cooperation in selling the shares to investors. Assuming his cooperation will
make it easier.

------
csomar
$xx million valuation doesn't really matter. How much money are they raising?
1 million? 10 millions? I'm asking because the metric (or the thing you'll eat
from) is the money raised not the valuation.

~~~
blazespin
Yeah, pretty much this. If they are not raising much, they can't afford to buy
you out. Another thing to think about is there are 3rd party websites that
will buy your equity. You could also approach investors after the funding
round is over.

------
rokhayakebe
Absolutely NOT. The least your shares are worth based on the lowest valuation
at which they are raising is $500,000. Why take a freaking 80% discount.

Keep your shares and consult with a lawyer who can ensure you are protected
further down the line. PLEASE DO THIS.

I will guarantee 100% that the type of people that offer you 20 cents on the
dollar (as a founder) are the type of people that will screw you. 100%.

~~~
ericd
Common shares are very different from the preferred that the VCs are buying.
His stock is not automatically worth 500k based on this post.

------
19eightyfour
No. If you opt out this is your last chance to extract value from your
investment. Make it count. If you stay in, you have more chances in future to
get out, so you have no pressure. But by making yourself a dead weight,
everyone else probably wants to see you go. Make them pay for that privilege.
Good luck.

Tl;dr - to me, threatening to stick around as dead weight is your leverage.
Your actual leverage may be something else. Work it out, use what you have to
get what you want.

It might help to understand where this idea came from for me. This idea came
from me thinking that, as I'm always rooting for founders on "Shark Tank" /
"Makers Tank" ( whatever it's called ), to just take the offer, since they are
beginning a journey, and the offer could take them to the next level, and they
shall have many more chances to extract value from this down the line, whereas
if they don't take it, to me anyway, their success seems less assured, while
in your case, contrary to that, I thought of the inverse, where once you make
the choice, you _don 't_ have any more chances to extract value. It's your
last bet at the casino, make it count. So, in a way, I think this strategy I
propose has something similar to the "martingale" betting method.

------
tommynicholas
If that is less than 1/3rd what your shares would be worth if you sold them as
part of the funding round you're not getting fair value. You have to decide
whether you want fair value or not, but ~1/3rd the value of the shares in this
funding round (assuming those investors got preferred shares, etc) is the low
end.

Investors in the round would probably buy your shares for 1/3rd - 2/3rds of
their value and you should consider asking if that's an option and then
negotiate from there. The only reason to let the company buyout your shares
for a lowball offer is if you left the company after a short period of time
without proper vesting and you want to do the right thing for the company's
sake. Doesn't sound like that's the case.

~~~
rhizome
The lowest amount of "XX,000,000" is $10MM, which at 5% is $500,000. So yeah,
less than 1/3.

~~~
ScottBurson
We don't know whether that's pre- or post-money (I'm not sure the OP is even
clear on the difference). What we need here is the pre-money valuation, which
could be quite low.

------
skynode
I don't think we have enough information (or even the professional capacity)
to advise you wisely for the best expected return. So many unknowns here; for
instance,

> what d'you mean by _ex-founder_ and by what corporate action or process did
> you come to attribute this title to yourself?

> Why have you held your shares till this time?

> Why are you skeptical of the future of the company? D'you have a personal
> beef with the _hardball_ CEO or is the company really doomed in your
> opinion?

> Who approached who (I mean you or your _hardball_ CEO) to leave the company?
> To be clear, did he notify you of their intention to raise money and ask
> that you sell off or did you _hear_ that they're about to raise money and
> then decide that you want out?

------
panda88888
First and foremost and to re-iterate what many HNers has already said: you are
NOT in any way obligated to sell. That said, it is in your best interest to be
pragmatic and get the most out of your equity (financial + emotional).

Let the hardball CEO (imo he/she is doing his/her job) know that you are open
to finding a mutually beneficial agreement, but you feel the initial offer is
not something that entices you to sell. Ask for the term sheet of the funding
round, because you need to know what will happen to your 5% stake to evaluate
your options.

I recommend viewing this as a business decision/transaction.

Step 1 is to speak to a lawyer and accountant. Get their take on what your
equity is worth, the tax implications, and evaluate the impact of the term
sheet on your equity if you have it.

Step 2 is to make a decision. How much equity do you want to sell? All, some?
For how much? And what are the numbers behind your decision? How much of a
discount are you willing to accept? If you want to sell all your stakes, the
lawyer/accountant should be able to give you a valuation.

Step 3 is to negotiate. You can do this through your lawyer if you want to
avoid mixing business with personal relationships. Work with the CEO if you
can, because if you decide to keep some equity, it is also in your best
interest that the company completes the funding round successfully.

Step 4 .. Profit!

Disclaimer: I have absolutely no prior experience with this kind of event
whatsoever. :)

------
kirillzubovsky
Valuation and percentage aside, let me ask you this question -- now that the
company is raising another round, where do you think the equity for the new
investors is going to come from?

Say the company is trying to take on another 20mil at 100mil valuation, that's
20% of the company that will have to come out from the current shares, i.e.
dilute all the current owners of the shares. That means to raise that money
right now, the company is going to have to dilute you, but also all other
employees and founders and investors. So you will lose ~20% of your shares, in
exchange for XX-growth of the paper value of your shares.

Imagine that right now your shares are worth 1 million, but for absolutely no
cost to you, those same shares will be worth 20 million tomorrow (minus the
20% that investors end up taking). This is not "exact" math, but it
illustrates the point.

You can sit on your shares today, and make a ton of money overnight by doing
_nothing_.

If you sell your shares today, for any amount less than what you would get in
the above scenario, you're losing money. The hardball-CEO is just going to
take your shares, and immediately resell them to new investors at 100X the
price.

Unless you absolutely need the 100k today and can't live without it, your best
bet is to hold on to the shares and take the gamble on them growing multiples.
If the company does great, you win. If the company shuts down, all you lose is
x-months worth of salary equivalent. If the company needs to raise more money
later, then you can always offer to sell your shares at the later price.

~~~
kirillzubovsky
If someone came to you and demanded your house for a small price of $20
dollars, would you yield and sell?

In the same way, the hardball CEO can offer whatever she wants, but in this
case the ball is completely in your court. You can ask for 10 million, if you
want, or a 100.

An ass-hat CEO could technically issue a billion shares to herself and new
investors and completely dilute your value in the company, as a last resort.

------
tyingq
Presumably, someone values your 5% higher than that, based on your
characterization of the valuation.

People that know better than me: How nuclear an option would it be to ask the
investors directly?

~~~
owens99
The investors will probably only do it if the CEO is on board. Assuming they
value relationship with CEO

~~~
tyingq
Seems curious, though, that a CEO wouldn't want that 5% available to the
investors at a reasonable discount. Versus the pittance that's being offered.
Makes you wonder what else is afoot.

~~~
Grustaf
The CEO wants to raise money for the company, so he definitely prefers any
buyers to buy the newly emitted shares.

------
ChuckMcM
Every offer deserves a counter offer. But if you can put the 100k to use, that
is a good option. That is two seed rounds for companies you believe in :-)

~~~
jacquesm
Sure, but if they offer $100K that's just too low to take serious, I'd
definitely hold out for a multiple of that and make it clear that any trickery
will be dealt with harshly. A 5%-er with a grudge is something no company can
afford.

------
robmay
Most companies have a Right of First Refusal (ROFR) doc as part of the
financing. If you can find someone in the secondary market to buy your shares,
the company, if they want them, has to buy them at that price. Finding such a
buyer is difficult but still possible. If it's a hot company, a lot of private
wealth management groups are looking to package up stocks like this to their
clients.

------
RantyDave
Take it. A real 100k is much more useful than an imaginary couple of million;
they probably can't afford any more; there is still a _very_ strong chance
they won't succeed (as you noticed); and even if they do the VC will get their
liquidity preference out before the founders see a penny, which they may well
not do. Take it and move on.

------
siegel
Critical side note, from a tax perspective: Be very careful with the
suggestions to have the stock bought back by the company for a 10% or 20%
discount off the price in the round.

I assume your 5% stake is common stock. The common stock valuation will not be
10% or 20% less than the preferred price in the round. It'll be more like a
75% discount.

What this means is that even if you have long term capital gains on the
appreciation of the stock, that tax rate will (at best) only apply to the
delta between the common stock valuation at the time of repurchase and the
price at which you bought the stock.

The delta between the common stock valuation at repurchase and the price at
which the shares are actually repurchased will be treated, for tax purposes,
as an employee bonus. So, it will be taxed like employment income.

Just want you to be aware of what you're potentially getting into, from a tax
perspective.

------
RomanPushkin
What can you buy for $100K? It's not worth thinking IMO. Keep your 5% and find
a job if you need $100K cash.

~~~
mcjiggerlog
A house?

~~~
tdicola
Not in San Francisco or the Silicon Valley area. Median home prices are well
over $1m. That's not even enough for 20% down on a mortgage.

------
pm24601
You believe that the future of the company is poor.

You are willing to sell.

 __Scenario #1: Company goes out of business __

Lets say you are completely right.

$100K in 2017's dollars > $0 in the future.

Verdict: Sell

 __Scenario #2: Company struggles /downrounds/etc __

Your stock is diluted.

$100K in 2017's dollars > $100K (or less) in 20xx dollars.

Verdict: Sell

 __Scenario #3: Company is moderately more successful than expected __

$100K in 2017 's dollars ==(approximately) $150K in 2020 dollars

Verdict: Sell

 __Scenario #4: You are completely wrong __

$100K in 2017 's dollars < $1MM in 2020 dollars.

\--------------------------

You left the company for a reason. Has any of those reasons changed?

Maybe sell part and keep part to reduce regret possibilities?

Question: What number will you be emotionally o.k. with no matter the result?

------
rgrieselhuber
Personally, I'd keep the equity. Would $100K really do much for you in the
long term?

~~~
toomuchtodo
$100k is life changing money for most people.

~~~
darawk
Not for most people here, though. Do we really need to keep saying stuff like
this every time anyone here mentions money? "$10 is a weeks worth of food for
people in Africa, you know". $100k is a lot of money, no question. But it's
only about 1-year's salary for a decently paid programmer. It's not enough to
quit your job, and it's not even enough to buy a house in most major tech
cities. Which is what the OP said "would it really do much for you in the long
term?"

~~~
abalashov
I dunno. $100k as a lump sum, here, in cash, now would solve a lot of serious
financial problems in my life that $100k over 12 months doesn't even move the
needle on. Some problems in life require lump sums. Cash is king.

~~~
to3m
I dunno too. How rich do you have to be to sniff at $100K? Perhaps you'd have
to know something about the US tax situation that I don't. (I'm in the UK, so
what do I know.) Maybe you end up with $10K in your pocket afterwards, or
something, so it's kind of barely worth it, comparatively speaking.

~~~
toomuchtodo
Even at the highest marginal tax rate, you walk away with about $60k after
tax.

~~~
abalashov
And a $60k lump sum would not be refused, either.

------
sova
5% of 50M = 2.5M 5% of 20M = 1M 5% of 10M = 500k 5% of 1M = 50k

$100k liquid good if their valuation is less than 2M, otherwise it makes
fiscal sense to hold onto it (or sell once it hits open market), unless you
think that it is not a reasonable investment.

Really, though, if you are not interested in the future of the company, sell
it to someone who is working on it. Figure out what it's worth at valuation
and take 20-70% of that, if you need some range parameters. And like I said
sentence one: $100k liquid good.

------
venture_lol
You need hard numbers and intelligence available to only you. Once you have
the data, talk to people you trust, then make a decision. If you hold 5%, you
have rights, rights to information. Obtain the information, then decide.

As far as a rabbit in your hand now versus 10 in the bushes provided the hunt
goes well, consider your own situation and what the 100K would mean. Would you
be able obtain a better ROI with 100K in your own hand versus say, staying
with the company? Are you young young or young at heart?

Good luck!

------
stretchwithme
If your 5% at the new valuation is worth a lot more than $100K, I would say
don't do it unless you need the money in the near term.

For example, if XX is 10, 5% of $10 million is $500K.

If you do need the money, maybe you should make a counter offer that is a
better deal for you.

And don't forget you have to pay income tax this year if you do sell. If you
wait, obviously you also delay the tax.

------
hoodoof
Offer your shares to the investors putting in to the next funding round, at
the same valuation. Just make sure you know those terms - don't commit to them
blindly.

If you believe in the company, the consider not selling.

If you do not believe in the company then make sure you get this cash - you
might end up the only person to actually make money from the company (this
happened to me).

------
joshuaheard
You own 5% of the company that is about to be bought for an amount that makes
your stake worth $500k minimum. I was in a similar situation once. My mentor
at the time told me, "If you have them by the short hairs, pull." We countered
for 10x their offer and settled for half of that.

------
yuhong
>Anonymous for obvious reasons.

I have been thinking of Yishan-style CEOs for a while now. I wonder if the ex-
founder selected the CEO in this case.

------
timcederman
What do you want? What's the lowest you've asked for that was refused?

------
shitgoose
"some moderate success" ??? "skeptical of the company's future" ???

take the money and run! learn from mistakes. they will burn through the cash
and fold, but you will have a headstart.

------
j_s
Ask HN: I don't want to be a founder anymore

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14417758](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14417758)

 _4 days ago_

~~~
j_s
Ask HN: How to leave a startup when you own a third of it?

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14357379](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14357379)

 _12 days ago_

------
endlessvoid94
Do you have a board seat? Are you able to sell your shares as part of the new
financing?

In that light, are your existing shares worth more than $100k at the current
FMV?

------
chrisgoman
If you are skeptical of the company's future, just take the $100k and move on
with life.

------
horsecaptin
What about waiting until the funding round is over, and then sell the shares
yourself?

~~~
jacquesm
The good point about this strategy is that there will be a per-share valuation
that is probably much higher than the previous one.

The bad point is that the OP will then have to do all the hard work on the
transaction whereas right now there are willing buyers.

~~~
siegel
100% correct. Is there any reason to think there will be a secondary market
for these shares? Going through a sizeable VC funding round does not imply the
existence of a secondary market.

------
icedchai
Ask for more.

~~~
throwaway21121
CEO refuses. How do I apply leverage?

~~~
terravion
Get the last 409A valuation. That's the price the shares should trade at and
in fact will create problems for the company if they do not.

If the CEO offered the last 409A valuation as a price, then there's little you
can do if you're inclined to take an offer because the 409A is the "fair
market value" of the common stock. Usually the 409A is a huge discount, like
60-80% less at the stage you've implied the company is at, under the preferred
price.

~~~
terravion
Also, missing in this discussion is that the board likely has to ratify any
change in ownership and the board (led by the CEO) has tremendous ability to
just say no and/or dictate who and at what price can buy. All this discussion
of the what the fair value of the shares might be to outside investors is
somewhat irrelevant in that situation.

~~~
kobeya
Yes but it can actually cause problems if the board approves a lower price
than the 409a valuation. He has some leverage in that respect, especially if
his sale of shares can be worked into the funding round.

------
stale2002
My advice: Talk to the board/investors.

The CEO is offering you a price. Other investors will probably be willing to
offer you a better price.

I mean, why wouldn't they? They've paid good money to get the shares that they
bought. Why wouldn't they want to buy other shares at a cheaper price?

------
grizzles
Don't sell. If they are about to raise, then this is the perfect time to sell
your shares to investors in the secondary market.

If you offer your stake at any discount, they are irrational if they don't
take it. Don't worry if you are bound to a non transfer-ability clause.
Getting around that is always possible with a bit of lawyering.

Also get someone else to handle the transaction on your behalf. You don't
sound like the best negotiator. No offense intended.

~~~
tptacek
For most practical purposes, there is no such thing as a "secondary market"
for private company shares for "moderately successful" companies like these.
The shares themselves will be subject to a shareholders agreement, the
boilerplate for which prohibits their unauthorized sale.

~~~
23david
Hire an attorney (or several) for a couple of hours to read through your
agreements.

The shareholders agreement, even if 'boilerplate', may only give the company
the right of first refusal on the sale of shares. Even if unauthorized sales
are completely disallowed, if you find an interested buyer there are still
ways to craft a legal agreement where you for all practical purposes have
'sold' the shares.

But if the company isn't very successful, there may not be any investor
interest, which would make the legal details pretty irrelevant.

I'd recommend getting an attorney to read over your agreements, and also try
and gauge investor interest by listing your shares on one of the secondary
market marketplaces.

------
penpapersw
[EDIT] I suggest looking at your situation from this perspective: $100,000 is
a lot of money and can last you and your family over a year in certain places.

~~~
nilved
This is bad advice.

~~~
penpapersw
My advice was to have perspective that things could be worse. To have that
perspective is never bad advice. ;)

~~~
MattyMc
Although having perspective is important, nothing the original poster says
implies he/she lacks perspective. Your advice is off topic, and implies he/she
should take the $100k without giving reasons as to why or why not beyond a
description of your own personal situation. That's why it's bad advice.

