The partnership, in full.
Tim Culpepper joins 9Bit Studios LLC as Chief Intelligence Officer and a 20% founding member. Tim Culpepper retains full ownership of Dewdrop and licenses the title to 9Bit Studios for publishing. This page documents how the relationship is structured.
The two relationships
Member of the studio · Owner of the IP
Tim wears two hats simultaneously, and the partnership is designed to keep them clean and independent.
Tim · 9Bit Studios LLC
- 20% equity, vesting over 24–36 months with 6-month cliff
- Title: Chief Intelligence Officer
- 10–15 hours/week strategic engagement
- Receives equity slice of every member product's platform fee
- Voting rights per the Operating Agreement
- Access to Oksana platform, design system, brand channels
Tim Culpepper
- 100% ownership of Dewdrop, PillDrop, FeedDrop IP
- Licenses Dewdrop to 9Bit Studios for publishing
- Receives 75% of net Dewdrop revenue as licensor
- License is terminable and revertible — IP returns on exit
- Free to publish other titles outside the studio if desired
- Transitioning from TX sole prop to UK private limited company
Why the separation matters: if the studio relationship ever ends, Tim retains his business and Dewdrop in full. If Tim pivots away from Dewdrop, Tim's 9Bit Studios membership is unaffected. Neither side can hold the other hostage to a single deliverable.
Vesting schedule
Equity vests over time, with a 6-month cliff
Tim's 20% equity grant vests over 24–36 months from the LLC formation date, with a 6-month cliff. Penny's 55% is fully vested at formation (representing 18 months of pre-formation sweat equity). Arthur's 25% follows the same vesting structure as Tim's, beginning when Arthur formally joins.
Linear monthly vesting after the cliff. If Tim departs before the cliff, all unvested equity returns to the LLC. After the cliff, vested shares are retained regardless of departure reason.
IP license scope
What the license grants — and what it doesn't
✓ Granted to 9Bit Studios
- Right to publish Dewdrop on the App Store under the 9Bit Studios developer account
- Right to market and distribute the title through studio channels
- Right to use the Dewdrop name and brand assets for marketing
- Right to integrate Dewdrop with the Oksana intelligence platform
- Co-marketing rights with other 9Bit Studios titles
✗ Retained by Tim Culpepper
- Underlying IP, source code, design system specific to Dewdrop
- Right to terminate the license (with notice period)
- Right to publish derivative works (PillDrop, FeedDrop) on same terms
- Right to publish unrelated titles outside the studio
- All trademarks, brand IP, and customer relationships
Operational arrangement
How the day-to-day works
Apple Developer Account
Dewdrop publishes under the 9Bit Studios LLC organization account. The App Store listing shows "9Bit Studios" as developer; "Tim Culpepper" attribution appears in the app description and on getdewdrop.com.
Domains
getdewdrop.com stays Tim-owned for
user-facing marketing. dewdropapp.io
recommended for legal/privacy/support URLs (App Store-stable).
dewdrop.9bitstudios.io is this
business hub.
Brand co-marketing
Studio channels (9bitstudios.io, LinkedIn, Instagram) actively promote Dewdrop. Tim Culpepper retains his own brand presence and can cross-promote PillDrop / FeedDrop independently.
Exit provisions
What happens if the partnership ends
Either party may terminate the publishing license with reasonable notice (typically 120 days). On termination:
- Dewdrop returns to Tim Culpepper in full — source, brand, customer list, all derivative IP. 9Bit Studios retains no residual claim on the title.
- Vested equity stays with Tim — all 9Bit Studios shares vested as of the termination date are retained.
- Unvested equity reverts to the LLC — any shares not yet vested at the termination date return to the studio for redistribution.
- Cooperation period — both parties commit to a clean transition: App Store account migration, customer communication, refund handling, and brand asset transfer.
Governing documents
The agreements behind the partnership
Each numbered template is executed via DocuSign and stored in the secure member document vault. This page references them; it does not host the executed contracts themselves.