Equity Questions

Equity is ownership that both the business owner and investors have in a company.

4 Votes
4 Answers
5.71K Views
How should a developer determine their stake in an early startup?

I am a developer that has been asked to take part in an early stage startup (no investors yet other than the principals themselves). There is some code in place for the product and I would be...

asked Aug 18 '10 at 12:52
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Garbage In Garbage Out
123 points

2 Votes
2 Answers
2.62K Views
How to approach potential advisors? (who are famous)

I have a couple of people I would just love to have as startup advisors, but not sure how to approach them. One in particular has greatly impacted my startup and gave tons of solid ideas on how to...

asked May 19 '10 at 21:22
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Griftastic
127 points

4 Votes
2 Answers
2.94K Views
How the 1.5 factor in Paul Graham's equity equation is obtained?

In "The Equity Equation" essay http://www.paulgraham.com/equity.html Paul Graham says... "If your valuation grows 3x a year, the total cost in stock of a new hire's salary and overhead is 1.5...

asked Jun 2 '10 at 21:38
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Xavi
21 points

0 Votes
2 Answers
3.08K Views
How much equity in exchange for angel money?

I am not sure what the going rate is for angel money in the software space is it 100k for 10% equity?

asked May 1 '10 at 00:12
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Stacey
484 points

3 Votes
3 Answers
3.45K Views
Invester Gets Equity for Money to Pay Developer for MVP VS. Developer gets Equity for MVP

We started our business back in July 2009 with the intentions of building websites, consulting, internet marketing, etc. Now we have changed our focus to developing a SaaS solution for a...

asked May 9 '10 at 01:09
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Csumme
146 points

3 Votes
4 Answers
10.7K Views
Startup Advice -- Attracting "Unpaid" Talent

A partner and myself are developing a new software product. We've been working on it for several months now but we lack certain areas of expertise -- in particular art skills. Everything has been...

asked Mar 27 '10 at 15:50
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Startup Advice
55 points

12 Votes
6 Answers
4.07K Views
How to reward early employees?

In many startups there are some #1 or #2 employees who helped the whole business all the way. I've got couple guys like that, I'd love to give them more than the salary (even though our salaries...

asked Mar 28 '10 at 00:28
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The Dictator
2,305 points

7 Votes
5 Answers
2.79K Views
I'm declining investment offers. Am I doing it wrong?

I'm about to launch my web based business, and several friends/relatives offered to invest small amounts of money(5-10k) for a few percentages (1-5%) of my company. It's a side business for me as...

asked Apr 15 '10 at 17:10
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Boolean
388 points

2 Votes
1 Answers
2.39K Views
Raising money from friends and colleagues - terms and %

I wish to seed my new business with about $120k, of which I need to raise about $90k. I prefer not to go professional seed investors as: (a) it could take some time (which I don't have); (b) it...

asked Mar 16 '10 at 08:12
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Stealth
76 points

6 Votes
3 Answers
3.15K Views
Giving Equity to a Sr. Employee

I'm running a company from the last 10 years. Now I have hired a senior person to head the finance of the company as my knowledge in the finance is nil.He has asked for 6 % equity stake in the...

asked Feb 4 '10 at 14:27
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Jay
31 points

0 Votes
3 Answers
2.53K Views
If one of your close acquaintances asks for some money from you, without a timeline or guarantee of returning it, how much would you cough up?

A close friend (or a mere acquaintance) of yours approaches you. States that he/she is badly in need of some money. And you oblige. In the back of your mind you know that the money would be...

asked Feb 8 '10 at 15:57
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Sandeep Satavlekar
325 points

4 Votes
3 Answers
14.6K Views
Can non-dilutable stock (or equivalent) be issued?

I think I understand stock dilution (and I know in quite some cases it's not bad to get diluted) but I was wondering (it's mostly curiosity but I still think it's an interesting question for...

asked Jan 22 '10 at 08:10
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Tristan St.
180 points

4 Votes
4 Answers
2.69K Views
Startup organization before incorporation

I'm beginning a startup at my school. Right now its just me doing all the work, but i am gathering a team that will ideally be my co-founders. I wont be incorporating any time soon, but i will be...

asked Jan 27 '10 at 10:29
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Eric Amzalag
818 points

3 Votes
2 Answers
3.19K Views
Examples of reasonable equity split for sales mgr

I co-founded a BtoB technology startup about 2 years ago with one partner. In the first 1.5 years we Quit our corporate jobs and worked (mostly) full time Completed the majority of technical...

asked Jan 28 '10 at 07:40
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Fractal Guy
254 points

0 Votes
2 Answers
3.31K Views
Single Founder Vesting?

Does it make sense to sign a vesting restriction for myself, if I'm a single founder of my company?

asked Jan 31 '10 at 11:03
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Newyuppie
441 points

5 Votes
2 Answers
3.39K Views
Minority Partner

I've decided to take on a minority partner for my startup. This individual will have a 25% stake in the business and I will retain 75% as the founder. My partner will not be putting up any money,...

asked Jan 9 '10 at 02:58
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Kemmatech
33 points

9 Votes
8 Answers
5.06K Views
What would be a fair equity distribution between me and my co-founder?

Me (software developer) and my co-founder (UI designer) are looking forward to build a SaaS startup. I would usually lean towards a 50/50 distribution, but in this particular scenario, the...

asked Jan 17 '10 at 07:02
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Olivier Lalonde
2,753 points

10 Votes
11 Answers
6.19K Views
What's a reasonable amount of equity to retain when you're the key founder?

I'm working with two other partners to get a SaaS startup off the ground. I worked on this thing slowly, mostly on my own, for about two years before approaching my partners. As a background, I...

asked Dec 23 '09 at 18:21
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Brianz
223 points

5 Votes
5 Answers
10.1K Views
Sample milestones for co-founder value-contributed equity distribution

Question: What are some sample milestones/goals to set for co-founders to allow them to gain equity for contributing value to the company, like a vesting-based equity plan. Backdrop: Let's say...

asked Dec 6 '09 at 23:13
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Nbeecroft
515 points

0 Votes
1 Answers
2.11K Views
Hourly Rate to Stock Option Conversion

Assume that you are working for a startup on hourly rate basis (let's assume x dollars per hour) right from the start. Now, after y month, the stack holder offers you equity in exchange of hourly...

asked Dec 14 '09 at 20:46
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Graviton
871 points