On the one hand, it's meant to provide a means of breaking up where a partner is forced to offer something they consider to be fair (because they would have to be willing to accept it themselves). On the other it seems like something that could be manipulated to the advantage of the partner with access to more cash, and I can see such potential abuses being particularly plausible in high-growth scenarios like startups.

Everyone would like to believe they can trust each other and that these are just formalities, but situations change and when the going gets tough, who knows how someone might react? So is a shotgun clause good or bad for startups, and can simple arbitration provide the same thing?

For those not familiar, here's some info about shotgun clauses:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shotgun_clause