ownership of what, though? As an American citizen, you can't have ownership of an Indian corporation (as a individual shareholder). You'd have to do it through a subsidiary.
Conversely, it's impossible for a Indian citizen to own individual ownership in a US company (unless it's through a company JV type arrangement, or he has a legal visa to work in the US - this is the founders dilemma that often plagues startups)
Additionally, it's near impossible to sue a foreign corporation without a US presence.
This whole situation is sticky, and the US "investor" has little leverage. One would think that if he really wanted to take 50% ownership of the company, he would have thought through all these issues - but he didn't.
Since he was the one that threatened to sue, you have to play hardball - you have to take that threat seriously, even though it might not be credible.
Rohan: Remember that any admission that equity should be given can later be used in court (if somehow, someway it ends up in a court case...but always prepare for the D-Day case)
Remember: you own the code, the servers, and the bank accounts. You control all the leverage. What has been said is done for now, but if I were you I would calculate all the hours you put into the project, and show that the $500 doesn't take you very fair.
Additionally, someone that "wants 50% of the profits for the next 2 months". Seriously, what kind of business arrangement is that?
As I said in another response, remember that he's also responsible for 50% of the costs. As managing partner, you can take on additional equity, and he'd have to match that, or risk being diluted.
> Conversely, it's impossible for a Indian citizen to own individual ownership in a US company (unless it's through a company JV type arrangement, or he has a legal visa to work in the US - this is the founders dilemma that often plagues startups)
Actually, it's easy for an Indian to have an ownership interest in a US company.
The founders problem is that US immigration law doesn't have a special case for self-employment and SE is what a startup looks like.
Comments
ownership of what, though? As an American citizen, you can't have ownership of an Indian corporation (as a individual shareholder). You'd have to do it through a subsidiary.
Conversely, it's impossible for a Indian citizen to own individual ownership in a US company (unless it's through a company JV type arrangement, or he has a legal visa to work in the US - this is the founders dilemma that often plagues startups)
Additionally, it's near impossible to sue a foreign corporation without a US presence.
This whole situation is sticky, and the US "investor" has little leverage. One would think that if he really wanted to take 50% ownership of the company, he would have thought through all these issues - but he didn't.
Since he was the one that threatened to sue, you have to play hardball - you have to take that threat seriously, even though it might not be credible.
Rohan: Remember that any admission that equity should be given can later be used in court (if somehow, someway it ends up in a court case...but always prepare for the D-Day case)
Remember: you own the code, the servers, and the bank accounts. You control all the leverage. What has been said is done for now, but if I were you I would calculate all the hours you put into the project, and show that the $500 doesn't take you very fair.
Additionally, someone that "wants 50% of the profits for the next 2 months". Seriously, what kind of business arrangement is that?
As I said in another response, remember that he's also responsible for 50% of the costs. As managing partner, you can take on additional equity, and he'd have to match that, or risk being diluted.
> Conversely, it's impossible for a Indian citizen to own individual ownership in a US company (unless it's through a company JV type arrangement, or he has a legal visa to work in the US - this is the founders dilemma that often plagues startups)
Actually, it's easy for an Indian to have an ownership interest in a US company.
The founders problem is that US immigration law doesn't have a special case for self-employment and SE is what a startup looks like.