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Ask for more.
CEO refuses. How do I apply leverage?
If you don't get a fair price (which in this case is at least 250K) suggest you can contact the investors directly. The CEO will hate that, as it can lower the funding raised or completely screw the round and the company.
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…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
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 "w…
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.
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 s…
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.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
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 "w…
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.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
CEO refuses. How do I apply leverage?
Tell him you know where his children go to school (just make sure it's off the record) :) If you don't get a fair price (which in this case is at least 250K) suggest you can contact the investors directly. The CEO will hate that, as it can lower the funding raised or completely screw the round and the company.
[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.
You might try Upwork for freelance work. Start charging low for small projects to guarantee some immediate income. Create a reputation in the site to charge more while continuously creating your own network so you can soon enough get out from Upwork and start earning fair money from freelance projects you find for yourself. Good luck!