Ask HN: How best to vest/distribute equity?

6 pointsby adnymarc17 anni fa4 comments

I am at the beginning of a new startup (my first) with several other people. I recognize the need to make ownership decisions up front and would like advice as to how best to approach vesting and equity distribution. There are currently 4 people involved in the project (3 who have been working on it for a short time and 1 who is just joining). One founder is from a business/financial background and the other 3 have technical backgrounds.

Is the best approach to determine appropriate amounts of equity and vest it over a period of time, cliff vesting for the first period? What has your experience been and what would you recommend?

5 comments

pg17 anni fa

The standard is to vest everyone over 4 years, with a 1 year cliff.

Omitting the cliff is a highly accurate predictor of problems.

mahmud17 anni fa

Is there some kind of a book you recommend for the business ignorant on these matters?

bhousel17 anni fa

Not sure about a book, but this blog seems to explain the term sheet pretty well:

http://www.feld.com/wp/archives/2005/05/term-sheet-vesting.h...

Admittedly, I just googled. But, if anyone knows of a better book or resource, let me know, since I'm in exactly the same situation as the poster.

[deleted]17 anni fa

adnymarc17 anni fa

So your recommendation would be to assess an individuals contribution as a part of the whole, assign a percentage value, and vest that over 4 years with a 1 year cliff?