Our arrangement over the past year was implied, so yes, effectively a handshake agreement. I don’t have an issue with him taking a salary when we can afford it. The problem is that for the company to maintain runway and keep me full-time, he would likely need to forgo a salary that he doesn’t actually need.

What confused me was how he framed it. First it was about “recouping some of his investment,” and when I pushed back that this isn’t how early-stage compensation works, it shifted to “saving money for family and legacy.” Both are understandable personal goals, but taking salary for those reasons directly increases the company’s risk at a stage where survival comes first. That mismatch is what I’m trying to sort out.