i think it's pretty amazingly sweet work experience, whatever you choose to call it. Just put "director" in there somewhere (business director, financial director, whatever). The punch will be in the little bulletpoints that explain exactly what you did.
i think they'll understand that it's hard to get a recommendation from the boss when you ARE the boss, or at least you're not working for anyone. The doc should be fine.
I might seriously think about describing in some detail how you guys started up in your personal statement. It's surely an interesting story, and you can't get much better than an interesting story coupled with great work experience!