[sidlls]

I'd expect for a 1% stake to get something of value in return, like access to investors (angel and seed stage, not VC) to at least pitch the idea to, office hours with successful other company starters, etc. The $30/week covers what you're offering already and it seems like you get the 1% for basically nothing. On the other hand 1% of most of the companies that come out of this is likely to be worth not much.

[manderchar]

We aim to provide teams access to relevant angel/seed investors on the demo day at the end of the program.

[sidlls]

"Aim to provide" is pretty loose. There really should be a guarantee of some sort in there. Not to be funded, of course, but something.

[lsc]

It's not so much a guarantee we (the potential users) want, as something showing that the company could credibly provide that access.

[manderchar]

That makes sense; and we will have more information on this front.

As a side note, aside from the above sources of value mentioned (essentially access), one thing that we're looking to provide is some structure and community to those who are also looking to start a company. We recognize that this is not something necessarily every founder needs

[lsc]

it's something I need very much. but part of needing it is that I'm not... particularly qualified to evaluate your ability to give it to me, which makes things difficult.

Really, that's the hard part about hiring help in general; the areas where you need the most help, you generally don't have the skill required to recognize skill, so you are reliant entirely on credentials, and even picking which credentials to select for is difficult when you don't know the field.