Governance
Ownership · voting · spending · revenue allocation · SPV mechanics · phantom shares · IP · non-compete · Alignment Reviews · exits · June 2026 Commitment Declaration. The structure that holds Nova AI together.
1. Overview
⚖ GOVERNANCE · HOW WE DECIDE
§13 jest governance summary — compressed · decision-ready. NOT the HoT itself (legal instrument follows separately · synchronized z this blueprint). Each section references HoT paragraph where full legal text lives.
3. Voting Rules
🗳 VOTING · UNANIMITY + 75%
3.1 · Unanimity (all 4 must agree)
- Change to shareholding structure
- Sale of the company
- Opening formal SPV after Pre-Incorporation Phase
- Taking on >75k PLN external debt
- Material changes to equity structure (phantom share framework, operator equity)
3.2 · Qualified Majority (75% = 3 of 4)
Note: Silent-partner period mechanic · Bart’s vote counts even though nominally held by Mikołaj.
- Change to blueprint (this document) fundamental
- Spending >50k PLN (per §4 Spending Authority)
- IP licensing decisions (Platform License Agreement terms)
- Virtual → formal SPV promotion (G5 → G6 trigger)
- Permanent hires (vs contractors)
- Founder role reassignments
- Venture R&D engagement acceptance (if >30k PLN)
3.3 · Simple Majority (2 of 4)
- Marketing budget allocations within approved monthly budget
- Contractor hires (< 6 months · < 30k PLN total)
- Partnership conversations (not binding)
- Product gate advancements G0 → G3 (post-G3 → qualified majority)
3.4 · Solo Authority
- Each founder within their defined role (§08)
- Up to 2k PLN discretionary spending per month per founder
- Day-to-day decisions within sponsor’s product scope
Cross-ref: HoT §11 Voting Rights
4. Spending Authority · 4 Tiers
💰 SPENDING TIERS · 4 LEVELS
| Level | Per-item | Cap |
|---|---|---|
| L1 Solo | ≤ 2,000 PLN | Monthly per founder |
| L2 Dual | 2,001 – 5,000 PLN | Two founders approve |
| L3 Triple | 5,001 – 50,000 PLN | Three founders approve |
| L4 Vote | > 50,000 PLN | 75% qualified majority |
| Tier | Threshold | Who decides |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 · Solo | Up to 2,000 PLN/month per founder | Solo discretion |
| Tier 2 · Two founders | 2,001 – 5,000 PLN | Two founders approve |
| Tier 3 · Three founders | 5,001 – 50,000 PLN | Three founders approve |
| Tier 4 · Qualified majority | >50,000 PLN | 75% vote (§3.2) |
All spending logged w Management Nova AI portal · Brian (Finance AI agent) tracks automatically · monthly review at Monthly Strategic.
Cross-ref: HoT §13 Spending Authority
5. Revenue Buckets · 30/30/40
📊 REVENUE BUCKETS · 30/30/40
Applies after 150k PLN MRR threshold hit (§11 Revenue Generation):
| Bucket | % | Use |
|---|---|---|
| OpEx | 30% | Infrastructure (GCP · Cloudflare · tools) · 3rd party services · software licenses |
| Reinvestment | 30% | Next products · stack improvements · potential hires · Venture R&D subsidies |
| Founder Salaries | 40% | Proportional to ownership |
5.1 · Salary split (proportional to ownership)
- Bart: 30% of 40% pool
- Mikołaj: 25% of 40% pool
- Vincent: 22.5% of 40% pool
- Maciek: 22.5% of 40% pool
5.2 · Below 150k MRR
- 100% reinvestment (no OpEx/salary split)
- Founders na equity · no salary
5.3 · Salary caps
Each founder has monthly salary cap proportional to ownership. All caps hit simultaneously at ~1M PLN MRR.
Example at 1M MRR
- 40% × 1M = 400k founder salary pool
- Bart cap: 30% × 400k = 120k/month
- Mikołaj cap: 25% × 400k = 100k/month
- Vincent cap: 22.5% × 400k = 90k/month
- Maciek cap: 22.5% × 400k = 90k/month
5.4 · Excess Allocation (above caps)
Revenue above salary caps → two options (chosen annually):
- Annual bonus pool (distributed proportionally or merit-based)
- Venture reinvestment (funds new products · expansion)
Decision at Annual Planning (November).
Cross-ref: HoT §8 Compensation · §14 Commitments
6. SPV Model
🧩 SPV · VIRTUAL vs FORMAL
6.1 · Pre-Incorporation Phase (renamed from “Virtual SPV”)
Stage: G1-G5 per Product Builder (§05)
Nature: Product exists as Nova AI internal project · no separate legal entity yet
Revenue: All revenue flows to Nova AI Ventures (Nova AI = registered entity)
Operator involvement: If operator engaged pre-G6, relationship via sweat-equity agreement (§8 Alignment Reviews mechanics)
6.2 · Formal SPV (G6+)
Trigger criteria (must satisfy 1+)
- Revenue: ≥50k PLN MRR sustained (3 months)
- External investor engaged (requires separate entity for investment)
- Permanent hires needed (operator + engineering team)
- Operator demanding formalization as condition of continued commitment
Structure
- Separate legal entity (sp. z o.o. typically for Polish ventures)
- Nova AI holding stake: 25% (default · negotiable per deal)
- Operator stake: negotiable (typically 25-35%)
- Phantom/option pool: 20-30% (reserved for team)
- External investors (if any): negotiable
6.3 · Platform License Agreement
Every SPV signs Platform License covering use of Nova AI Stack (§06).
License modes (§06 Section 5 · E)
- Mode 1: 0 PLN/year · pure Nova AI investment
- Mode 2 (default): Deferred loan · paid at profitability or buyout
- Mode 3: Fixed small retainer (~1k PLN/year · symbolic)
- Mode 4: Commercial terms (post-profitability)
Profitability trigger (default · contract-customizable): 50k PLN MRR + 3 consecutive months positive contribution margin.
Cross-ref: HoT §7 SPV + Phantom Shares · §6 IP Ownership
7. Phantom Shares Framework
👻 PHANTOM SHARES · CEO VESTING
7.1 · Developer Tier (degressive scale)
Per HoT §7:
| Developer order | Phantom stake |
|---|---|
| 1st developer hired | 5% |
| 2nd | 3% |
| 3rd | 1.5% |
| 4th | 1% |
| 5th+ | 0.5% each |
Total dev pool cap: 10-12% (prevents dilution beyond limits)
7.2 · CEO / Operator Tier
| Role | Phantom stake range |
|---|---|
| CEO / operator of SPV | 10-15% |
| Co-CEO (L02b · expert + operator split) | Varies per case · typically 15-25% combined |
| Senior hire (CFO/CTO equivalent in SPV) | 3-5% |
7.3 · Vesting
- Standard vest: 4-year vesting
- Cliff: 1-year (0% vested if leave before 1 year)
- Good leaver: Continued vesting for 12 months post-departure · can convert phantom to cash at fair valuation
- Bad leaver: Forfeit unvested portion · vested portion convertible at discount (50% of fair value)
7.4 · Sweat-Equity Structure (Pre-G6 operators)
- Structured by Mikołaj + Dora per case
- Avoids Polish labor law interpretation as employment (critical · per §09 Operator Model)
- Transitions to phantom shares at G5 Operator Onboarded
- Transitions to real equity at G6 SPV Formalized
Cross-ref: HoT §7 Phantom Shares (this chapter) · §09 SPV Partners & Operator Model
8. IP Ownership
🔑 IP OWNERSHIP · PLATFORM vs PRODUCT
8.1 · Platform IP (Nova AI holding)
- Nova AI Stack (all 6 layers · per §06) — owned by Nova AI Ventures holding
- Product Builder methodology + implementation — Nova AI
- MCP servers library (reusable) — Nova AI
- Templates + patterns (SnapSell learnings · dark factory skills · legal templates) — Nova AI
- Brand + proprietary configurations — Nova AI
8.2 · Product IP (per SPV)
- Product-specific code + designs — SPV (when formal) · Nova AI pre-G6
- Brand of individual products (SnapSell, Lumen, etc.) — SPV owned
- Domain-specific MCPs — SPV owns (contribution back to Nova AI via license · Nova AI reusable but SPV retains brand-specific variants)
8.3 · License-Back Mechanism
SPVs using Nova AI Stack license-back via Platform License Agreement (§6.3). Ensures:
- Nova AI retains platform IP ownership regardless of SPV ownership changes
- SPV has operational license to use stack
- Platform license fee mechanics trigger at exit events (§06 Section 5)
Cross-ref: HoT §6 IP Ownership
9. Non-Compete
📋 COMMITMENTS · NON-COMPETE
9.1 · During Nova AI Participation
- Nova AI is the primary company for all 4 founders
- One disclosed external obligation maximum per founder (Bart: Codibly · Mikołaj: SKS · Vincent: Lucky Duck wind-down · Maciek: Yameo sale)
- No additional external obligations without qualified majority (§3.2) approval
- No competing AI venture studios · no competing products launched externally
9.2 · Post-Exit Non-Compete
- 12-month non-compete post-departure from Nova AI
- Enforceable only if paid (Polish labor law requirement · Mikołaj structures)
- Scope: AI-native venture studio business · Nova AI Stack-competitive products
9.3 · The June 2026 Transition · All Hands On Deck
🚣 Till June 2026: fine. After June 2026: paddling like crazy. We are all investing into Nova AI big-time. Building a venture studio takes an enormous amount of unpaid time and effort that nobody sees from the outside. The leverage model only works if all four of us are pulling in the same direction.
Each founder has one approved external obligation winding down through Q2 2026 (§08):
- Bart — Codibly earnout through Q1 2027 (silent-partner arrangement)
- Mikołaj — SKS partnership (transition timeline TBD by June)
- Vincent — Lucky Duck wind-down + own marketing tools (must close or scope by June)
- Maciek — Yameo sale + earnout (technical transition managed through 2027)
After the June 2026 commitment declaration (§12 June 2026), the deal changes for any new external activity:
- Starting a new venture, advisory, or project — requires an explicit conversation first (not qualified-majority approval, but transparent dialogue among all 4)
- Nobody blocks another founder’s initiative arbitrarily — but we surface it before it happens, not after
- The conversation covers: what is this, how much of your hours does it take, how does it interact with Nova AI commitments, is it zero-sum with the ones above?
- Full transparency about where each founder is putting their unpaid hours — because unpaid hours are the currency of this phase
Why this matters: the §11 revenue math (150k MRR by December 2026) and the §12 per-founder accountability table both assume all 4 founders paddling at full commitment after June. If one founder has a new side-obligation we don’t know about, the math silently breaks. Transparency is how we avoid resentment before it builds.
Cross-ref: HoT §14 Commitments · §08 Human Founders & Roles · §12 June 2026
10. Alignment Reviews
⚠ NON-PERFORMANCE · 4-STEP PROCEDURE
Framing: Collaborative · not punitive. Purpose: alignment · not ejection.
10.1 · When Triggered
- Founder visibly disengaged (missing cadence · not delivering sponsored products)
- Founder overcommitted externally (exceeding “one foot in” scope)
- Founder breaching blueprint (violating non-negotiables · anti-patterns)
- Other 3 founders request review (via qualified majority)
10.2 · 4-Step Process
- Conversation (week 1): Concerned founder(s) raise issue · clarify concerns · listen to context
- Alignment plan (weeks 2-4): Structured 60-90 day recovery plan · specific commitments · checkpoints
- Review (end of 60-90 days): 4-founder review · alignment achieved · partial · or further action needed
- If unresolved: Forced buyout mechanism at formula (1.5× pre-revenue · MRR-based post-revenue · per HoT §15)
Forced buyout · last resort: if alignment is not achieved after Steps 1–3, the founder exits at formula: 1.5× capital pre-revenue, or MRR-based valuation post-revenue (per HoT §15). No renegotiation mid-process.
10.3 · June 2026 Fallback Clause (Special Case)
- Simple clean exit option for June 2026 Commitment Declaration
- Payout: 2× capital contribution (50k → 100k)
- No Alignment Review needed · elective resignation
- Post-June 2026: Alignment Review process applies (Step 1-4 above)
Cross-ref: HoT §15 Accountability
11. Exit Mechanisms
🚪 EXITS · BUYOUTS · TRANSFERS
11.1 · Individual Founder Exit
- June 2026: Clean exit via fallback clause (§10.3 · 2× capital payout)
- Post-June 2026 elective: Buyout at formula (1.5× pre-revenue · MRR-based post-revenue · per HoT §15)
- Non-performance exit: Via Alignment Reviews process · forced buyout at formula
- Good leaver: Standard phantom share vesting continues 12 months · equity convertible at fair valuation
- Bad leaver: Forfeiture provisions (HoT §16)
11.2 · Nova AI Holding Sale (rare · long-term)
- Unanimity required (all 4 founders agree)
- Drag-along: Majority sale forces minority to participate on same terms
- Distribution: Pro-rata per ownership stake
11.3 · SPV Sales (more common)
- Qualified majority (75%) to approve SPV sale
- Platform License lump sum payable to Nova AI at sale (§06 Section 5)
- Phantom shares honored: Operators + team paid from sale proceeds per vesting
- Nova AI’s equity stake (25%) realized at sale proceeds
- Buy-back clause: Nova AI right of first refusal if acquirer wants to exit (§06 E)
11.4 · Non-Transferability (External)
- Shares NOT transferable to external parties without unanimity
- Internal transfers (between founders) require qualified majority
- Prevents hostile ownership changes
Cross-ref: HoT §16 Exits and Transfers
12. June 2026 Commitment Declaration
📅 JUNE 2026 · COMMITMENT GATE
📋 Commitment Milestone
June 2026 · Formal Declarations
All 4 founders declare engagement level
Scope: commitments in writing · external obligations disclosed · fallback clause available (2× capital payout for clean exit).
Critical governance event · §12 Section 7 cadence anchor.
12.1 · Scope
All 4 founders declare formally:
- Continue with Nova AI as primary company (commitment level)
- Not continue (activate fallback clause · 2× capital payout)
12.2 · Pre-Declaration (June 2026)
Each founder prepares:
- Personal reflection (lessons · concerns · commitment level)
- External obligations status (timeline to wind down · continue as-is · conflict with Nova AI)
- Role fit (am I in the right seat · should role adjust)
- Family / personal situation (availability · location · relocation openness)
12.3 · Declaration Meeting
Format: In-person · 1-2 full days · all 4 founders
Outcome scenarios
Scenario A · All 4 continue: Lock commitments for 12 months · proceed to full execution · update roles if needed
Scenario B · 1+ exit: Execute fallback clause (2× capital payout) · restructure ownership · proceed with remaining founders
Scenario C · All 4 exit (unlikely): Wind down Nova AI · distribute assets · close out
12.4 · Post-Declaration Mechanics
If exits occur
- Exiting founder’s equity repurchased by Nova AI (or distributed pro-rata to remaining founders)
- Exiting founder paid 2× capital (100k PLN if put in 50k)
- Remaining ownership proportions adjusted (e.g., if Vincent exits: Bart, Mikołaj, Maciek absorb his 22.5%)
- Updated blueprint + HoT within 30 days of declaration
If all continue
- Locked commitments documented
- Updated blueprint if roles adjust
- Proceed to post-June execution with clarity
Cross-ref: HoT §14 Commitments (to be updated to reflect final clause)
13. Governance Cadence · Decision-Making Lives Where
🔍 DECISION HOME · WHERE LIVES
| Decision type | Where made |
|---|---|
| Day-to-day operations | Solo / Wednesday + Friday cadence |
| Spending Tier 1-2 | Solo / Bi-person sign-off |
| Spending Tier 3 | Monthly Strategic Review |
| Spending Tier 4 (qualified majority) | Monthly Strategic or ad-hoc vote |
| Unanimity decisions | Annual Planning or ad-hoc (in-person preferred) |
| Alignment Reviews | Monthly Strategic + dedicated sessions |
| June 2026 Declaration | Standalone · in-person · 1-2 days |
| SPV promotion (G5→G6) | Qualified majority · documented at Monthly Strategic |
| Annual bonus allocation | Annual Planning (November) |
All decisions logged w Management Nova AI portal (§06 L05) · visible to all 4 founders · auditable history.