The bonus was repayable as a loan over a period of several years, the people said, and until recently Mr. Makan owed Morgan Stanley several million dollars on the loan.
Mr. Makan formed his own firm partly because he didn't want to be under pressure to sell financial products from each firm's own menu, such as initial public offerings they were underwriting, according to someone familiar with his work.
Mr. Makan targets up-and-coming technology entrepreneurs "while they're still eating ramen noodles and can hardly afford apartments but they're building something great, " said client Kevin Hartz, chief executive of Eventbrite, an online ticketing platform forsports, music and other special events.