Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by iSloth 1065 days ago
Assume your friend does no more than a day a week, and in 5 years you’re worth a huge sum on money - what percentage do you think would fairly reflect his reward, that’s the percentage you should give now.

If you give 5% for example, there’s no reason you can’t give more in time based on increased input, but don’t give something you’ll regret in the future.

1 comments

>> If you give 5% for example, there’s no reason you can’t give more in time based on increased input, but don’t give something you’ll regret in the future.

What would be your method to "give more in time based on increased input"?

Say now I give them 10% equity based on 1 day per week commitment. What's your suggestion if after 6-month, they increased to 3 days per week commitment?

If you pursue this, make sure to research the tax implications of giving away large chunks of equity post-founding.

If you wait until the company has a large valuation, your co-founder could be taxed on the stock's current value, even if they aren't making enough salary to pay the taxes. This is why many founders purchase the equity up-front (at a very low par value) then do reverse vesting (where the company can claw back the equity under certain scenarios).

You can negotiate that with them either ahead of time in an agreement, or when they are able to commit more time. It should be in both your interest to negotiate that in good faith if the startup is doing well.