I actually feel this is a valid concern, but only when the person is not referred to as a 'cofounder'. Cofounders should be in at the ground floor together. It sounds like he should be employee #1 or an independent contractor if you don't trust or know him well enough to share everything.
So, assuming we're actually talking about employee #1, I think having some measures in place is a smart idea. Just like a prenuptial agreement before marriage. Sure, you may be 'in love' with this person now, but people change, things can get nasty, and it's good to have thought ahead instead of being completely blinded by love/trust.
I know most people are saying 'the codebase is worth nothing', but depending on the project this may not be the case. We all like to look at successful software products and say "Meh, I could clone that in a weekend, it's not about the code", but in reality there are probably hundreds of edge cases that we haven't thought about until we're actually building it ourselves. As well as that, polish takes time. UI/UX polish, refactoring code, simplifying how components interact with each other, iterating, etc.
If somebody wants to go compete with you by building the product themselves, then wish them luck, because they have no idea how many intricacies there are in most software products, and by the time (months or years in the future) that they figure them all out, you'll already be way ahead.
But if they can just copy and paste a folder and be in the exact same starting position as you, then the only advantages you have are non-technical - which you should of course also have, but don't underestimate the value of a good technical advantage as well.
So, assuming we're actually talking about employee #1, I think having some measures in place is a smart idea. Just like a prenuptial agreement before marriage. Sure, you may be 'in love' with this person now, but people change, things can get nasty, and it's good to have thought ahead instead of being completely blinded by love/trust.
I know most people are saying 'the codebase is worth nothing', but depending on the project this may not be the case. We all like to look at successful software products and say "Meh, I could clone that in a weekend, it's not about the code", but in reality there are probably hundreds of edge cases that we haven't thought about until we're actually building it ourselves. As well as that, polish takes time. UI/UX polish, refactoring code, simplifying how components interact with each other, iterating, etc.
If somebody wants to go compete with you by building the product themselves, then wish them luck, because they have no idea how many intricacies there are in most software products, and by the time (months or years in the future) that they figure them all out, you'll already be way ahead.
But if they can just copy and paste a folder and be in the exact same starting position as you, then the only advantages you have are non-technical - which you should of course also have, but don't underestimate the value of a good technical advantage as well.