Help...I need your thoughts and ideas on this...I had a business partner give me 6,000 with the agreement he would yield 20 percent of all current and future profits. He would give me 3 years to get going...no re payment of loan....Is 20 percent to much of a stake in a $6,000 investment? He is a silent partner, not putting any work into this idea ...Other than a legal zoom document that was never notarized there is nothing else in writing ...help ..how do I get out from under this? I think this is way to much of a stake to claim on a 6,000 investment ...

Fundamentally, this comes down to whether $6,000 is less than the value of a 20% equity stake in the venture. In order to calculate this you should have an idea of the expected profits per (unit of time: year, month, etc). You should also have an idea of the risk of those cashflows. Provided these, it's possible to evaluate the total equity value of the venture.

Then, evaluate whether 20% of this is greater than/less than $6,000. Another way of looking at this is whether 80% of the equity is less than/greater than your own contribution (financially, effortwise, etc). Taking in consideration your own investment of time, effort and money and comparing that to your own expected compensation is the best way of evaluating the venture.

Keep in mind the following: Do you need *his* $6k? In other words, is the capital necessary for startup and continued success and, even if so, can you obtain this money elsewhere?

Hope this helps.