Did either of you put real money in?

I know a SaaS startup with 80/20 split, but the guy with 80% has the industry exp, product vision, and $X0,000 invested personally to pay for the MVP that’s already built. The 20% guy is a full stack developer who came on board later to carry on the dev work.

You have to decide what’s good for your situation, but be reasonable!!

I’ve met lots of shade tree mechanics who would like to be inside during the winter.

First, you can work this out with your developer so I don’t know why you’re asking internet strangers.

Second, yes, you can set up nearly any app to be administered or managed by a non-techie.

A task management app for a certain niche industry that’s apparently super unsexy to every potential investor I’ve ever come in contact with.

The same one I started with 10k but with more runway: unsexy B2B SaaS. Enough with the physical products, the drop-shipping dudes, and the real estate moguls!

Don’t beat yourself up over, but by all means, learn from it and move on. You can’t do everything all the time. My wife recently shared this gem she learned somewhere, “Do the next best thing.”. In your case, you don’t have to always be doing the #1 best thing. Just be doing something. You’ve obviously learned your lesson, so go act on it!

I work in K12 IT. A lot of educators want it easier but don’t want to contribute anything to achieve it. This isn’t just my cynicism talking though: ask r/k12sysadmin.

They said what I did is not real work.

And their authority for this judgment is…?

I like this answer, but I recently found out a local CPA who’s been at it for probably 30+ years doesn’t know some of the rules about payroll. Not sure what to do now…

Gusto would be my top choice, if I hadn’t found Patriot Payroll. Best pricing, great service. Only a few nitpicky things like I can’t pro-rate a salaried employee’s first check, so I have to put it in as a “bonus” and point it to normal tax rates (not 25% WH) or call it a “commission” which is weird but still ends up in the Box 1 on the W2 so it’s not a big deal.

OP says “just signed a new lease this year”.

Know yourself: what you’re good at and not good at. What you can learn and what you can’t learn.

Not sure: ask a friend—an honest one!!—or a family member who knows you well.

A C Corp is very unlikely to benefit OP in this case. The double taxation and high Corp tax rates are vicious.

An S-Corp with the spouse as part/majority/entire shareholder is a good idea though if it allows OP to legitimately satisfy the conditions of his pension.