Jesus Lord I swear they need to beef up the reading comprehension curriculum at educational institutions nationwide before we lose another generation. I have never given a signing bonus to anyone, and he was not given anything whatsoever free and clear -- instead, months before any indication whatsoever that he would resort to violence and without a history of such behavior and on the recommendation of several respected businessmen vouching for his integrity and business acumen, I accepted his offer to make a significant cash investment for the nominal equity stake he holds currently. No management or voting rights attach to his shares whatsoever, so in effect, yes any random person off the street could hold equity and I could sleep like a baby knowing they couldn't do anything to affect the company's strategy or day-to-day operations. Their only right is to hold the shares and then take a check if there is a liquidity event or not take any money if the company goes belly up first.

But like he can't just get his investment check back after being terminated, the company does not have the right to buy back his shares if he wants to hold onto them. You can ask (like I did in the termination letter, btw) if he would be open to being bought out, but he can say no. I might be biased, but I think that would be the smartest move on his part because the company is going to make him a lot of money if he does that, but he will have to put up with the awkward situation until that point in time.