… your heart skips a beat as you realize the potential of what you are holding. Being an honest person, you take it to the authorities who find the owner. You’re contacted a few days later and are told that the owner wishes to talk to you. Seems you’ve made quite an impression with your show of character.

The Offer

The owner meets you at a local coffee shop and thanks you for your honesty. She tells you that the documents you saw in the briefcase could potently be worth billions. The ideas and concepts outlined would be the basis for her next venture. She is grateful for you getting them back to her, and not sharing the information. As a gesture of her gratitude, she offers you 2 options:

The First Option

$500,000 cash, free and clear. She’ll cover all the taxes, so the 500 grand is all yours.

The Second Option

To be involved with the project outlined in the briefcase’s contents as a partner. You’ll be working from home, invited to provide input, help make the decisions, and get 25% of the venture and all profits.

What would you do?

The first option, the cash, seems like the sure thing. You can do whatever you want with the cash. Even start your own venture.

Option two, appears more risky. What if it tanks? You read the docs, and know it’s a brilliant idea. But no venture is a sure thing, right?

Before you answer consider…

• Would you actually use the money to start a venture? If you’re not willing to take the risk on a brilliant idea, would you be willing to go it alone?
• The entrepreneur in you may not have a choice. If you see the world as an ocean of possibilities, and a big oyster with a potential black pearl washes up to your feet, it may be too good to pass up.
• A good venture is more like blackjack then roulette. If you have a well thought out plan, you have a good chance of getting paid.

So what would you choose - and which one is really the sure thing?