Presumably you could set the details up however was necessary to satisfy investors. What I'm really interested in is the conceptual structure. Joining as an associate, proving yourself, and working your way to a possible partnership seems intuitively like a more rational way to attract and reward talent than the employee model is. I don't like the idea of being someone's employee. I'm fine with the idea of being their partner. In fact, if it's someone I respect, that's a goal worth working for. My thesis is that lots of creative people feel this way and more will.