[trevelyan]

If there aren't outside investors and no-one is getting diluted the 5% you mention in your write-up is reasonable since there is usually around a 20% total allotment to employees. All I meant otherwise is that from the owner's perspective it can be psychologically difficult to give significant equity to a new hire if you've been running the business for several years. It is always easier to agree to something generous if it is funded out of growth and conditional on business improving generally, so arguing for conditional options or whatever based on performance can be a good way to align interests.