Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Hello again, everyone!

This is a follow-up to a previous thread (located here) I started regarding a startup I participated in a few years back. Last time I asked for advice when my friend, who I had gone into business with, informed me that he didn't consider me to be a co-founder. I thought I was, and things heated up. That's around when I decided to ask all of you.

Since then, things have cooled down. He still won't admit I'm a co-founder, but I'm coming to terms with it, and the job is still my easiest source of income while I'm taking classes.

Since then, I've been thinking. I was pretty devastated when he told me he didn't look at me as a co-founder. Now I'm starting to see things from his point of view, and they don't seem so unreasonable. Still, even if I can't be co-founder, I want *something*.

This is where you come in. I think it comes down to a question of vernacular. I know I want a title that reflects my (somewhat limited) role with the website's starting-up, but I don't know what to call it.

Neither does he.

Is there another word for what I did besides "co-founder" that he would be more likely to agree to? He has claimed the title of Founder, so it would have to be something that doesn't interfere with that.

What I need is something that says I started working for him for free with the intention of gaining an increasing profit as the company gained profitability. I invested work with the intention of increasing profits down the road.

What title best describes this?

I don't know of any titles that recognize "working for free" as part of the job title.

A few things come to mind:  on the positive side: friend, fan, supporter, believer,

volunteer.  On the negative: naive, . . .  and it all goes downhill from there.

The hierarchy of corporate responsibility runs something along the lines of:

• Jr. Grunt
• Worker/grunt
• Sr. Worker
• Subject mater expert/practitioner/guru
• Supervisor
• Asst. Manager
  
• Manager
• Department head
  
• Director
• VP
• Pres/CEO
• Board member
• Vice-chair
• Chairman
• Retired

To describe your activities, something along the lines of:

Director of Social Media

SEO Manager

Blogmeister

and if you wanted the "working for free" recognized, append (Volunteer), but I wouldn't.

Not knowing the details of what's transpired, I'm not picking up on the importance of the working for free title relative to the business arrangement.

Good luck on a satisfactory resolution.