With an unproven business venture without revenue you should evaluate your spending carefully. A website does not have to be AND should not be a static piece of your business. Like your business your site should evolve as the business evolves. The cost of $600-$1000 now may seem like a little money now, but three, four, six months down the road if you are struggling for revenue to pay bills that money will seem like millions to you.
You and your partner are a team and as such should work like a team. Although the designer is his/her brother, most likely your partner is only looking out for what is good for the business now and in the future. You should treat the relationship with his brother as if it were a professional designer. Create a contract, lay out terms, clarify expectations, maybe even throw a little equity his way upon completion. Do all this even if he is creating the site for free.
Going back to the initial design at licead.com, like I said, I don't think it looks bad at all. It could use a little cleaning up here and there, but I think that by sitting down with your partner and his brother that you can probably come up with something that has a professional look/feel that will get your started without looking like crap.