Your partner is an idiot. Even if his brother is a great designer, if he makes a mistake, both of you will be hesitant to say anything.

It sucks, but clients are supposed to be tough on designers so that they get whatever they want.

There's also a reason people go to school for design, or have years of experience. An "eye for design" is not enough for a professional site. UI design and efficient navigation don't just happen by drawing a pretty-looking menu.

Design says a lot about your company, so I'd go for the professional one if you're truly committed to this AND can afford it without sacrificing other areas of the business.

I am assuming that the design at http://licead.com is your partner's brother. Based on that I think with a little editing and some input from everyone that you can have a good starting point. I can appreciate you wanting the best design for your company and do believe that a website says a lot about the company, but it sounds almost as if you have "site envy". "Site envy" is when you look at designer's portfolios and say "WOW" I wish my site had that, looked like that, or did this. "Site envy" can lead to an endless cycle of designs and redesigns because you keep finding things you like "better". "Site envy" can stall a business.

With an unproven business venture without revenue you should evaluate your spending carefully. A website does not have to be AND should not be a static piece of your business. Like your business your site should evolve as the business evolves. The cost of $600-$1000 now may seem like a little money now, but three, four, six months down the road if you are struggling for revenue to pay bills that money will seem like millions to you.

You and your partner are a team and as such should work like a team. Although the designer is his/her brother, most likely your partner is only looking out for what is good for the business now and in the future. You should treat the relationship with his brother as if it were a professional designer. Create a contract, lay out terms, clarify expectations, maybe even throw a little equity his way upon completion. Do all this even if he is creating the site for free.

Going back to the initial design at licead.com, like I said, I don't think it looks bad at all. It could use a little cleaning up here and there, but I think that by sitting down with your partner and his brother that you can probably come up with something that has a professional look/feel that will get your started without looking like crap.

As a designer, I think you'd be crazy to do anything but go professional. Design is undoubtedly one of the most important aspects of product today (if apple can show us anything), and your partners little brother - sucks.

Hire the designer.

"Hire" the brother to review and give constructive criticism to the design the professional designer does.

Win/Win

You know what - that was a pretty mean-spirited comment you made to me, Zarathu. I don't appreciate it and I think it makes you look very, very disrespectful. You ask our advice and I posted what I thought was a helpful comment. It's fine not to agree with my comment but you were out of line with your personal attack.

Your partner appears to have an eye for design.

Here's a thought: insist on writing a contract with your partner's brother to pay him the $600-$1000 after the company starts bringing in revenue. That way you both win. :-)

You don't want to listen to your partner, so why would you want to listen to us?

There are going to be a lot of these arguments over things like this. Are you sure you're working with the right person? How long have you been friends?