In summary, while there's no one-size-fits-all answer, early employees should aim for equity that reflects their contribution and the stage of the company, typically ranging from 0.1% to 5% depending on various factors.
Startups typically allocate 10-20% of equity during the seed round in exchange for investments ranging from $250,000 to $1 million. The percentage and amount can be dependent on the company's stage, market potential, and the extent of capital needed to achieve initial milestones.
Angel and venture capital investors are great, but they must not take more shares than you're willing to give up. On average, founders offer 10-20% of their equity during a seed round. You should always avoid offering over 25% during this stage. As you progress beyond this stage, you will have less equity to offer.
The short answer to "how much equity should a founder keep" is founders should keep at least 50% equity in a startup for as long as possible, while investors get between 20 and 30%. There should also be a 10 to 20% portion set aside for employee stock options and, in some cases, about 5% left in a reserve pool.
Founders typically give up 20-40% of their company's equity in a seed or series A financing. But this number could be much higher (or lower) depending on a number of factors that we will discuss shortly. “How much equity should we sell to investors for our seed or series A round?”
In summary, 1% equity can be a good offer if the startup has strong potential, your role is significant, and the overall compensation package is competitive. However, it could also be seen as low depending on the context. It's essential to assess all these factors before making a decision.
As a rule of thumb, a non-founder CEO joining an early-stage startup (that has been running less than a year) would receive 7-10% equity. Other C-level execs would receive 1-5% equity that vests over time (usually 4 years).
It includes shares that represent a percentage of that ownership, and the amount of stock that each shareholder owns can vary. For example, if your company has a total of 100 shares, each share is worth one percent ownership in the business.