[angersock]

If you are asking for 0.05%, you better have a damn good reason to deserve it, because $1k is definitely not enough.

To be clear, that's an easy 2mm valuation. That's also an incredibly tiny slice of the company, and that's also something that will get diluted to shit.

So, let's stop this meme that for an early-stage company that fractions of a point are somehow a big deal. That's how a lot of early employees--who do the hard work--get screwed.

[chatmasta]

The OP is not talking about employee shares. He's talking about advisory shares, and maybe some 1099 work. What does a startup get out of that? Unless you're seriously qualified with relevant knowledge, why would a startup give precious equity to you? Sure it's "only" 0.05%, but it's still one more name on the cap table. And this attitude of "it's only 0.05%" is exactly what leads to the dilution you're talking about.

If a startup is valued at $2mm, they don't need your measly $1k. To make that worthwhile they would need to get $1k investment from dozens of different investors. And at that point they're no longer giving up "only 0.05%." Also, if they need an advisor, they can find one. If they need a contractor, they're not going to pay via shares, because the whole point of issuing options/equity is to align the long term incentives of the startup and the investor/employee. A contractor does not work long term, so there is no need to give away shares.

Also, the suggestion of the OP -- a place for investors to get advisory shares in companies -- already exists. It's called Angellist.

[syedkarim]

> That's also an incredibly tiny slice of the company, and that's also something that will get diluted to shit

If you are truly investing in a company, dilution is irrelevant. The only two things that matter are share price and your ability to liquidate those shares. If I buy at 1-cent and sell at $1, I could care less about how much my original 0.05% has been diluted.