The answers determine which type of financing outlined below you will seek. In general, businesses seeking equity capital start with partnerships, the simplest method. The original owners generally keep a large part of ownership and control. The other end of the equity spectrum is a public offering, at which point the company founder may have little ownership and even less management control. The following explanations are generalizations.
Every deal is different.
Another consideration is what will happen if one of the partners dies. The company may get to a decision point and, without talking to each other, each party may pursue what they think is the right tactic. By contrast, partnerships set up primarily for investing usually involve little exercise of control by new partners, whose focus is a return on their money. In strategic partnerships, new partners may already own other companies, and the new partnership allows them to develop equipment, products or a market to enhance the other businesses. In all partnerships, the investment is not easily convertible to cash.