I think the equity a startup is offering me is very low. Am I crazy?

13 points

15 years ago

Here's the story. Company A is a new startup with one person. This guy has already invested a considerable amount of his personal money (more than a million) to purchase the domain name and a few other assets from an old business.

He has great business/sales/management knowledge and is someone I've known for years, but has no technical background. I'm a developer, and he wants me join as a technical co-founder. There's a business plan, but no prototype yet.

I was offered 2% equity (vesting over four years) and a fair salary (less than I made at my last job) plus benefits to join this company.

I thought the equity seemed quite low for being a technical co-founder, even though the sole founder has already invested quite a bit. There's also less risk in the sense that he has the money to pay me a salary.

What do you all think about the equity being offered, given this situation?

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