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A client in Denver offered me a 20% stake instead of paying my invoice
We were finishing a website project and he said he was tight on cash but believed his new idea would take off. He looked me right in the eye and said, 'Take a piece of the dream, or wait for money that might not come.' I walked away with the invoice, but I still think about it. Would you have taken the equity gamble?
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ellis.hayden1mo ago
Used to believe in taking those kinds of chances. That stare he gave you though, feels like a classic pressure move. Walking away was probably the smarter play for something that shaky.
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phoenix3311mo ago
Man, that's rough. So what was the idea anyway, like did he even tell you what you'd be buying into?
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the_pat1mo ago
That line about "money that might not come" is the real red flag. It means he was already planning to not pay you, equity or not. Taking the stake just makes you an unpaid investor in a business that starts by not paying its bills. Your invoice was the first test, and he failed it.
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