Document
Founders Proposal — v1
Status
Draft — for discussion
Date
Prepared by
Shayla J.

Let's Build
Something Real.

This is an invitation. No cash investment required. No corporate nonsense. Three people who know what they're doing, splitting the work and the reward in a way that actually makes sense. Everything here is a starting point — bring your opinions.

Founder — Technical
Shayla J.
CIO. MSP operator. Builds full automation stacks, static sites, and form flows that don't leak data or skim revenue. The engine.
Founder — Design
Tiffany
Independent designer with an existing practice. Brings visual direction, brand identity, and client-facing polish. The aesthetic.
Founder — Business
Rob
Already in business together. Handles client acquisition, relationship management, and the conversations neither of us wants to have. The pipeline.
Section 01
What We're Building

Ctrl Alt Design is a small web studio with a clear point of view: we build clean, fast, fully-owned sites that don't extract money from the people who use them. No Squarespace subscriptions. No Shopify cuts. No Eventbrite fees eating your ticket revenue. You get a site, you get the keys, you keep what's yours.

Our stack is static HTML on Cloudflare Pages, forms routed through secure automation flows, and payments handled peer-to-peer. It's not a limitation — it's the product. Most clients paying $30/month to a website builder would be better served by a one-time build they own outright and a small monthly retainer to keep it running.

We already have a proof of concept. A full event registration and ticketing system — registration logic, per-guest pricing, digital receipts, organizer reports — built and running in production. We know this works. Now we make it a business.

Section 02
How the Money Works

The goal is a structure that's simple enough to explain in a sentence and fair enough that nobody resents it in year two. Here's the starting framework — everything below is negotiable and should be discussed together.

Solo work
You Brought It In
90% yours
You source it, you build it, you deliver it on your own time. 10% tithes to the studio — because the name helped, and the studio infrastructure supported it. You keep the rest.
Rob-managed clients
Rob Owns the Relationship
1/3 each
Once Rob takes on a client relationship — actively managing contact, follow-up, renewals — future revenue from that client splits three ways. He earned his third by being the reason they stayed.
Collaborative builds
Two of Us Built It
50/50 + 10%
Two founders collaborate on a build without the third. Split evenly between the two, 10% to the studio. Open for discussion — this is a starting point.
Studio fund
The 10% Pot
10% in
Every job tithes 10% to a shared studio fund. Covers tools, licensing, the Microsoft tenant, domains, and eventually profit distributions. Reviewed quarterly together.
Section 03
Who Does What

Nobody is doing a job they hate. The whole point is that each of us brings something the others don't want to do themselves.

Shayla
Technical Lead
  • Site builds and deployment
  • Automation flows and form logic
  • Domain and DNS management
  • Infrastructure and security
  • Client update portal
  • Ticket queue oversight
Tiffany
Design Lead
  • Visual direction and brand identity
  • Client-facing design work
  • Site layout and UI
  • Collateral and presentations
  • Design standards for the studio
  • Creative review on all builds
Rob
Business Lead
  • Client acquisition and outreach
  • Proposals and pricing conversations
  • Relationship management
  • Contracts and follow-through
  • Renewals and upsells
  • Studio finances and reporting
Section 04
What We Agree On

Before the money conversation, there's a values conversation. These are the things that shouldn't be up for negotiation.

01
No cash investment required.
Nobody buys in. The investment is time and skill. No one is owed money back before the studio makes money.
02
Clients own their work.
Every client gets their repo, their domain, their deploy. We don't hold anyone hostage.
03
We start slow on purpose.
Small clients first. Work out the collaboration bugs. Build the reputation before we build the workload.
04
Money conversations happen early.
If something feels off about the split on a project, we say it before the work starts. Not after.
05
Nobody does a job they hate.
If something falls outside your lane and you don't want it, it gets reassigned or outsourced. No one gets stuck.
06
This is a side hustle until it isn't.
No pressure, no timeline. If it grows into something bigger, great. If it stays supplemental income, that's fine too.
Section 05
What We Need to Decide Together

This document is a starting point, not a done deal. These are the open questions that need the three of us in a room.

01
Ownership split — what's the percentage?
Equal thirds is the default assumption. If anyone feels their contribution warrants a different split, this is the time to say it. No wrong answer.
02
Two-founder collaboration split
When two of us build something without the third, 50/50 plus 10% to studio is proposed. Does that feel right?
03
When does Rob "own" a client relationship?
The proposal is: once Rob actively manages contact with a client — not just makes the introduction — he earns 1/3 of future revenue from that client. Where's the line?
04
Microsoft tenant — who pays, how does it get reimbursed?
Currently on a dev license. Once paying clients come in, the tenant cost moves to the studio fund. Estimated $21/mo. Straightforward but worth naming.
05
How do we formalize this?
A one-page operating agreement is enough to start. Nobody needs an LLC on day one but having something in writing protects all three of us if something goes sideways.
The work is ready.

The stack is built. The proof of concept exists. The rate card is written. All that's missing is the three of us agreeing to do this together. Bring your questions, your opinions, and your red lines. That's what this meeting is for.