"We need to be clear about something," Alex says. "If this gets funded. If we actually do this. How do we split it?"
The room goes quiet. This is the conversation that breaks most partnerships before they begin.
"I've thought about it," Jian says. "Alex, you had the original insight. The theoretical foundation. Without that, there is no Inferthermic."
"Without you," Alex counters, "it's just a paper. No product, no business, no path to revenue."
"And without me," Maddy interjects, "you two would still be arguing about differential geometry in a library basement."
Alex grabs a napkin from the chicken bag, pulls out a pen. "Fifty-thirty-twenty. Me, Jian, Maddy. It's not equal, but it's fair. The idea is worthless without execution. The execution is worthless without the story."
He writes it down, the numbers stark on the paper. INFERTHERMIC FOUNDING EQUITY: Alex 50%, Jian 30%, Maddy 20%.
Jian looks at it for a long moment. Then he takes the pen, adds his signature beneath his percentage. Maddy signs with a flourish, drawing a small flame next to her name.
Alex signs last. The ink is still wet when he looks up at them, these two people who have become something like family in the space of a few months.
"We're really doing this," Maddy says.
"We're really doing this," Alex confirms.