Bingo! Now you know it’s BS. This really sucks. It’s not a good place to be. The fact that they won’t take a buyout from you means they are pulling a fast one and someone probably said “You know, it would look better if it was just you” somewhere down the road.

Don’t sell, don’t give, don’t walk away. Stand firm. This was a binding agreement they can’t get out of. You have all the power here. You know you have something. They have established a lower bounds on its value. It’s way more than 40% of 400k.

Best of all. Don’t let your customers know it’s founders are going through this. It’s obvious, but make sure you keep your cool and composure. It will pay off in the long run.