Executive Summary
7P has reached a critical transition point. The business has progressed well beyond concept stage — a significant working prototype has already been developed by the founder using Git, Vercel and Supabase, with approximately 50% of the intended product already functioning and further features continuing to be added.
This is a strong foundation. It demonstrates founder initiative, product vision and early execution. The next stage, however, requires a more structured technology and product delivery model.
Theo Popescu is proposing to join 7P as CTO, board-level advisor and product/technology lead with equity, taking full technical ownership of the platform and helping guide the business from working prototype to professional MVP, commercial launch and future scale.
This structure recognises Theo's contribution as a founder-grade technology partner who brings prior exits, SaaS experience, enterprise automation credibility, development team leadership, commercial product judgement and no initial salary burden to the company.
Current Position of 7P
7P is a kitchen software platform currently in prototype/MVP stage. The founder has already created a significant working product base using modern development tools.
The next stage should focus on converting the current prototype into a properly managed technology asset. Key priorities include:
- Full codebase review and architecture assessment
- Supabase and database review
- Security and access review
- CI/CD implementation and development environment structure
- Testing and QA framework
- Release management and product roadmap refinement
- Technical debt register and documentation
- Commercial readiness and pilot readiness
- Future scalability planning
This is the stage where technical leadership becomes commercially material.
Theo's Personal Contribution
Theo Popescu brings a rare combination of technical depth, founder experience, board-level judgement, commercial execution and software company-building capability. His value is not limited to managing developers or reviewing code — he has repeatedly helped build and scale technology-led businesses across SaaS, fintech, automation, logistics, AI and emerging technology sectors.
| Stage | Theo's Relevant Experience |
|---|---|
| Concept to MVP | Founder and CTO across multiple ventures |
| MVP to commercial platform | SolBox, Midfunder, Forum |
| Team scaling | Forum to 140 staff; SolBox team leadership |
| Enterprise credibility | Hyperscience APAC; Westpac automation |
| Investor & advisor readiness | Midfunder exit; SolBox growth; Spatiar investor materials |
| Technical governance | SaaS, fintech, logistics, automation and AI systems |
| Exit experience | Midfunder and Forum successful exits |
Development Team Contribution
Theo will bring access to a partner development capability on a paid engagement basis. The proposed development capability includes senior architect, full stack developer, front-end developer, QA engineer, automation QA, UI/UX designer, DevOps/cloud specialist, project manager and mobile development capability.
Without experienced technical leadership, simply engaging developers can lead to cost overruns, duplicated work, weak architecture, poor quality control and misaligned feature delivery. Theo's role is to ensure development spend is directed toward building a reliable commercial product — not just producing code.
| Contribution | Commercial Benefit | Risk Reduced |
|---|---|---|
| CTO-level technical leadership | Converts prototype into scalable platform | Technical failure risk |
| Architecture review | Prevents expensive rebuilds later | Hidden technical debt |
| CI/CD and lifecycle setup | Enables controlled releases | Deployment risk |
| QA and automation process | Improves product reliability | Customer churn risk |
| Product roadmap discipline | Focuses effort on commercial priorities | Wasted development spend |
| Dev team governance | Makes paid team more effective | Cost blowout risk |
| No initial salary | Preserves early-stage cash | Immediate burn |
Equity Request
Theo originally sought 33% ordinary equity. Recognising that Davy has already created the original concept and built a meaningful working prototype, Theo is prepared to accept 25% ordinary equity.
A traditional 12-month cliff is not recommended because Theo is accepting no salary initially and contributing at founder-level. A 3-month mutual confirmation period is fairer for both parties.
Recommended Vesting Structure
The additional 15% should vest over 24 months using a hybrid model:
- 50% time-based vesting
- 50% milestone-based vesting
This rewards both continued contribution and actual commercial progress.
| Equity Component | Percentage | Treatment |
|---|---|---|
| Initial equity | 10% | Issued on signing or formal appointment |
| Vesting equity | 15% | Vests over 24 months (hybrid model) |
| Total | 25% | Ordinary shares |
Proposed Vesting Milestones
Five milestone tranches combine to deliver the full vesting equity alongside the initial grant.
Recommended First 90-Day Plan
Discovery & Audit
- Review current prototype/MVP
- Review Git, Vercel and Supabase setup
- Review codebase quality
- Identify technical debt
- Identify security and access risks
- Create technical risk register
- Create development roadmap
- Confirm development team requirements
- Establish delivery governance
Build Foundation
- Implement professional development lifecycle
- Establish dev, staging and production environments
- Set up CI/CD
- Establish QA workflow
- Prioritise MVP scope
- Begin stabilisation work
- Prepare delivery cadence
- Review development budget
Pilot Readiness
- Move platform toward pilot readiness
- Begin structured feature delivery
- Create customer/investor demo pathway
- Establish documentation foundations
- Confirm commercial launch milestones
- Review mobile development pathway
- Report progress to founder/board
Governance & Decision Rights
Because Theo is taking full technical ownership, he requires sufficient authority to deliver the technology outcome while preserving Davy Watson's founder authority over product direction.
| Area | Authority |
|---|---|
| Board seat | Theo holds a board seat |
| Technical architecture | CTO authority |
| Development standards | CTO authority |
| Development team selection | CTO approval/recommendation required |
| Security and platform risk | CTO authority |
| Product roadmap | Jointly developed by founder and CTO |
| Product roadmap veto | Founder retains veto authority |
| Commercial strategy | Founder/board authority |
| Development budget | CTO manages within approved budget |
| Spend above approved budget | Founder/board approval required |
Founder-to-Founder Model
- Founder vision
- Product direction
- Product roadmap veto
- Commercial founder leadership
- Market/customer insight
- Company founder control
- Sales strategy and execution
- Go-to-market planning
- Customer acquisition
- Brand and positioning
- Partnerships and channels
- Revenue growth leadership
- Technical execution
- Platform architecture
- Development lifecycle ownership
- CTO and board-level advisory
- Product and technology delivery
- Technology risk management
Termination & Acceleration Protection
Because Theo is accepting no salary initially, the equity structure should include fair treatment if the company ends the relationship without cause.
| Scenario | Treatment |
|---|---|
| Voluntary resignation | Vested shares retained; unvested shares forfeited |
| Termination for cause | Vested shares retained; unvested shares forfeited |
| Termination without cause | Vested retained + pro-rata recognition + 3–6 months acceleration |
| Change of control | 50% of unvested accelerates automatically; 100% if role materially reduced |
Dilution protection: Theo's agreed 25% should be calculated on the company's fully diluted share capital before any future external capital raise. After a qualified financing round, Theo's shares dilute pro-rata with other ordinary shareholders.
Proposed Commercial Terms Summary
Closing Statement
The current prototype provides a strong base. The next phase requires technical leadership, disciplined development, architecture review, QA, CI/CD, security, product governance and commercial launch readiness.
Theo's proposed role is to help convert the founder-built MVP into a professionally managed, commercially viable software platform.
The proposed 25% ordinary equity structure provides alignment between founder vision and technical execution. It recognises Theo's founder-level technology leadership, prior exit experience, board-level judgement, development team governance and commitment to joining without an initial salary.
Subject to legal and accounting review, this proposal provides a fair and commercially practical basis for moving forward collaboratively and giving 7P the technical leadership required for its next stage of growth.
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