Hello, I am a web designer with years experience designing user interfaces and building sites in html / css. Just over a year ago a developer I work with approached me about creating a niche social networking site with him. He had tried this same project before with another developer and it utterly failed due to his design skills. The had maybe 100 members, none of them were active. We decided to take this project on together and I would do all of the design and html/css work and he would do the database work etc. in asp. I also created the logo for the site, other original artwork and chose the name. Our site launched a couple of months ago and it has over 1000 registered users and is starting to get some attention now. Everybody and I mean everybody loves the design and ease of use I created. Recently we have been approached by a larger company to form a business partnership but first we need to decide who owns what majority. His claim is that he should own 60% because he has spent more time in fromt of the screen programming, I however would be happy to have a 50/50 split considering his last project was a complete failure and this one is starting to gain fame. Plus I spent time marketing the site and other intangibles which have made the site a success. One last thing: we have split the hosting and costs 50/50 so far, but now he wants to own 60% - how should we resolve this? Thanks in advance!
You should have resolved it by discussing the issue before beginning the project. No one here can decide this one for you. I do a lot of joint ventures and always discusses ownership issues before I start work, and it also helps to write/sign contracts at the beginning of a project to avoid these kind of disputes.