There are several failed startups that I'be been in where there was no possibility of the phoenix rising from the ashes because the people responsible for the failure were clearly going to sue if it became a big success.
Even in one situation where the ownership of the code was crystal clear (the primary author was the son of a very big time lawyer and was very careful about that).
In that last case they insisted on owning a majority of a new venture despite their proven ability at failure. In my experience, greed of the sort we're seeing here is a strong sign this situation will never work out; among other thing it reveals a whole lot of things about how the other person views you and your contributions to the venture. It also suggests the other guy is not going to be able to make it work if he parts with you.
Failure = who cares.
Success = danger (see below).
Big success = guaranteed lawsuit.
There are several failed startups that I'be been in where there was no possibility of the phoenix rising from the ashes because the people responsible for the failure were clearly going to sue if it became a big success.
Even in one situation where the ownership of the code was crystal clear (the primary author was the son of a very big time lawyer and was very careful about that).
In that last case they insisted on owning a majority of a new venture despite their proven ability at failure. In my experience, greed of the sort we're seeing here is a strong sign this situation will never work out; among other thing it reveals a whole lot of things about how the other person views you and your contributions to the venture. It also suggests the other guy is not going to be able to make it work if he parts with you.