| A few points: You're not charging nearly enough. If you're good enough to build a startup's MVP there's no reason for you to charge less than $80-100/hr. It doesn't matter where you live, either; code written in New York City works the same way as code written in Omaha. I'm going to second the general consensus and say that no, you shouldn't, unless you're getting something else out of it with a potential upside above your current rate. If you're going to risk getting paid nothing more than a fraction of your already low rate, the upside needs to compensate for that. Personally, I don't think you should take equity. Too many startups fail and even for successful startups equity generally means squat unless you're raising a ton and can take some off the table, or you're profitable and can get a disbursement. If I were in your position, I'd agree to the $2k flat rate, capped at n hours (100?). If it goes over, $20/hr thereafter. Ask for a royalty off the top of every subscription/widget/sale, something like the lesser/greater of $x or y% depending on their model. Instead of someone skimming profits that will most likely never materialize, you're a cost of doing business before they become profitable. Asking for equity guarantees you a slice of what will most likely be nothing. Asking for a royalty gets you a small sum with every sale. And you've still got the $2k. |