Hello HN. Me and 3 of my co-founders applied to an incubator (which I don't name) and we got in. The incubator took 6% and the rest of the equity was supposed to be divided among the 4 founders. I would receive 30% based on the time and money I put in.
I absolutely trusted my co-founders and didn't check the incorporation papers but it seems that the incubator (+ the mentors in that incubators) and my co-founders didn't want me as a founder and didn't allocate me any equity.
I have tried talking to them about this and they said we'll give you the equity after the incubator program is over which is nonsense. Since I'm not officially a shareholder, do I have any leverages to take my 30%?
(In 3 months the product is going to be complete and since I'm the main engineer on the team, I think they only want me for that 3 months and are not going to give me my equity after 3 months)
what do you think I should do? My options are:
1. keep working and hope I'll get the 30% after 3 months which is unlikely
2. quit the company and work on the project alone. (I can directly contact some of the contacts we have and ask for money, then I can hire other people to help me out)
3. confront them and demand the 30%
UPDATE
Thank you all for all the help. I have been compensated for the past 2 months (everyone has been) but not the previous 8 months. We had a verbal agreement, but they have already failed to compensate me with the 30% of equity.
My co-founders are actually not very smart and rational, and I'm sure they haven't thought this through. They're on average 10 years older than me (they're all in their 30s and I'm 22) so I'm just a kid in their eyes that they can get rid off once they have the product.
the team consists of one software engineer, two electrical engineers (hardware guys but we're a software company and they mostly do business stuff) and a business guy.
I have tried talking to them about this and they said we'll give you the equity after the incubator program is over which is nonsense. Since I'm not officially a shareholder, do I have any leverages to take my 30%? (In 3 months the product is going to be complete and since I'm the main engineer on the team, I think they only want me for that 3 months and are not going to give me my equity after 3 months)
what do you think I should do? My options are:
1. keep working and hope I'll get the 30% after 3 months which is unlikely
2. quit the company and work on the project alone. (I can directly contact some of the contacts we have and ask for money, then I can hire other people to help me out)
3. confront them and demand the 30%
UPDATE
Thank you all for all the help. I have been compensated for the past 2 months (everyone has been) but not the previous 8 months. We had a verbal agreement, but they have already failed to compensate me with the 30% of equity.
My co-founders are actually not very smart and rational, and I'm sure they haven't thought this through. They're on average 10 years older than me (they're all in their 30s and I'm 22) so I'm just a kid in their eyes that they can get rid off once they have the product.
the team consists of one software engineer, two electrical engineers (hardware guys but we're a software company and they mostly do business stuff) and a business guy.