jdoe

I work at a small design firm (<20 employees). Last week I received a letter which stated that due to economic downturn there was no other option for the board of directors than to fire me and four co-workers.

Up until this point, I had a seemingly good relationship with one of the managers of the company. In my private time, I've been developing a (not design related) concept with a lot of potential (to become a startup and beyond), and he offered to help me out with this. He proposed that we sign an agreement to divide the potential revenue by 50/50. His reasoning was that since he's backing the idea with a company, he deserves 50 percent. And since it's my idea, my share would be the other half. To be more specific, his help would consist solely of providing 'contacts' with investors and such, not help with technical development.

But now I realize that I've actually been fired, I'm feeling more and more awkward about all this. My options are to sit out my time here, to not sign his proposed contract and to develop my idea on my own. The consequence would be that I lose some basic contacts with investors we've initiated together. The other option is to just take my loss, find a new parttime job, and continue to develop the idea together with them.

What would you do? Would you follow your gut feelings or bet on trusting them?

Thanks!