[SwellJoe]

Actually, the "negotiation" is proving what you're worth. If, when you come in, you're relatively far along, have a really compelling demo, you can prove a huge market, etc...you'll get a better valuation. The differences are small, but they do give somewhat different offers to different groups. And, of course, you can still say no when pg calls to give you the terms.

But, do take pity on pg--he's frazzled on that day. He calls everybody personally. I was impressed by how nice he managed to stay through the whole process (and even moreso now that I've seen first-hand how crowded pg's life is with people who want to be around him).

We went in knowing that we'd say "no" if the offer involved more than 6% equity...but it rarely does, so that wasn't a big concern. We're glad we weren't one of the "no" groups.