Forums Search

Welcome to Phase Four of a four-part Splitting Equity Series. If you missed it, start your journey here: Introduction - Early Startup Equity — Getting it Right before continuing on if you haven’t already, and go in order from there.

Phase One - Startup Equity - Avoiding Early Mistakes 

Phase Two - How Startup Equity Works 

Phase Three - How to Split Equity

Phase Four -  Part 1 - Equity Management ( ←YOU ARE HERE 😀)

• Part 2 - Recovering Startup Equity

Let's continue!

Splitting startup equity is only half the challenge for early-stage startups — managing startup equity is a whole different issue! How much equity we split and the founders' ownership percentage is generally determined by what we expect each founder to contribute.

But the ...

Welcome to Phase Two of a four-part Splitting Equity Series. If you missed it, start your journey here: Introduction - Early Startup Equity — Getting it Right before continuing on if you haven’t already, and go in order from there.

Phase One - Startup Equity - Avoiding Early Mistakes 

Phase Two - Part 1 - How Startup Equity Works 

• Part 2 - Startup Stock Options 

• Part 3 - Startup Stock Vesting 

• Part 4 - Startup Stock Valuation ( ←YOU ARE HERE 😀)

Phase Three - How to Split Equity

Phase Four - Equity Management

Let's continue!

Early-stage startups use a Stock Valuation to determine their fair market value. This will determine everything from how much a venture capital firm might receive for their investment to how we distribute empl...

Welcome to Phase Two of a four-part Splitting Equity Series. If you missed it, start your journey here: Introduction - Early Startup Equity — Getting it Right before continuing on if you haven’t already, and go in order from there.

Phase One - Startup Equity - Avoiding Early Mistakes 

Phase Two - Part 1 - How Startup Equity Works 

• Part 2 - Startup Stock Options 

• Part 3 - Startup Stock Vesting ( ←YOU ARE HERE 😀)

• Part 4 - Startup Stock Valuation

Phase Three - How to Split Equity

Phase Four - Equity Management

Let's continue!

Vesting is a way to allow members to "earn" their stock over some period of time or per specific milestones. A common "4-year vesting schedule" means that a member of the company will earn 25% of their stock or...

Welcome to Phase Two of a four-part Splitting Equity Series. If you missed it, start your journey here: Introduction - Early Startup Equity — Getting it Right before continuing on if you haven’t already, and go in order from there.

Phase One - Startup Equity - Avoiding Early Mistakes 

Phase Two - Part 1 - How Startup Equity Works 

• Part 2 - Startup Stock Options ( ←YOU ARE HERE 😀)

• Part 3 -Startup Stock Vesting

• Part 4 -Startup Stock Valuation

Phase Three - How to Split Equity

Phase Four - Equity Management

Let's continue!

Startup stock options provide the holder the option to buy a company's stock at a later date, typically during a "liquidity event" where the company is sold or goes public. Early-stage startups use a stock option agreement ...

Welcome to Phase Two of a four-part Splitting Equity Series. If you missed it, start your journey here: Introduction - Early Startup Equity — Getting it Right before continuing on if you haven’t already, and go in order from there.

Phase One - Startup Equity - Avoiding Early Mistakes 

Phase Two - Part 1 - How Startup Equity Works ( ←YOU ARE HERE 😀)

• Part 2 - Startup Stock Options

• Part 3 -Startup Stock Vesting

Phase Three - How to Split Equity

Phase Four - Equity Management

Let's continue!

Startup companies have been wrestling with how to structure stock ownership forever. As private companies we have major decisions to make, from raising venture capital to awarding key employees with equity to just splitting equity among co-founders — we need a...

Welcome to Phase Three of a four-part Splitting Equity Series. If you missed it, start your journey here: Introduction - Early Startup Equity — Getting it Right before continuing on if you haven’t already, and go in order from there.

Phase One - Startup Equity - Avoiding Early Mistakes 

Phase Two - How Startup Equity Works 

Phase Three - Part 1 - How to Split Equity 

• Part 2 - Splitting Equity Today 

• Part 3 - Splitting Equity in the Future ( ←YOU ARE HERE 😀)

• Part 4 - Calculating Startup Equity Splits + FAQ

Phase Four - Equity Management

Let's continue!

Founder equity splits rarely turn out to be what we hoped they would be after Year 1. The co-founders at startup companies start off with the best intentions, but as the business ve...

Welcome to Phase Three of a four-part Splitting Equity Series. If you missed it, start your journey here: Introduction - Early Startup Equity — Getting it Right before continuing on if you haven’t already, and go in order from there.

Phase One - Startup Equity - Avoiding Early Mistakes 

Phase Two - How Startup Equity Works 

Phase Three - Part 1 - How to Split Equity 

• Part 2 - Splitting Equity Today 

• Part 3 - Splitting Equity in the Future 

• Part 4 - Calculating Startup Equity Splits + FAQ (←YOU ARE HERE 😀)

Phase Four - Equity Management

Let's continue!

At this point, we have all we need to calculate our equity splits. It’s showtime, baby! All of the different agreements we’ve made from this point on are just a formu...

If I hadn't been a Founder, I'd be an awful parent.

Now, I'm already giving myself too much credit here because it's assuming I'm not an awful parent, which let's be honest, many of us just might be. But I've definitely come to appreciate over the years raising my 5-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter how my best parenting traits are directly mapped back to what I've learned as a Founder.

Surprisingly, it really has little to do with "building a startup" and more to do with how I've come to think like a Founder.

The Power to Question Me

The day my son Wil was born, I wrote him a long letter. In it, I gave him all of the advice I had in me about preparing him for the world. The one piece that's always resonated the most was "Question every...

Welcome to Phase Three of a four-part Splitting Equity Series. If you missed it, start your journey here: Introduction - Early Startup Equity — Getting it Right before continuing on if you haven’t already, and go in order from there.

Phase One - Startup Equity - Avoiding Early Mistakes 

Phase Two - How Startup Equity Works 

Phase Three - Part 1 - How to Split Equity ( ←YOU ARE HERE 😀)

• Part 2 - Splitting Equity Today

• Part 3 - Splitting Equity in the Future

• Part 4 - Calculating Startup Equity Splits + FAQ

Phase Four - Equity Management

Let's continue!

By default, most startup founders just split their equity once and live with it. They may decide on an equal split or they may devise some reasons why the split favors one partner more tha...

Welcome to Phase Three of a four-part Splitting Equity Series. If you missed it, start your journey here: Introduction - Early Startup Equity — Getting it Right before continuing on if you haven’t already, and go in order from there.

Phase One - Startup Equity - Avoiding Early Mistakes 

Phase Two - How Startup Equity Works 

Phase Three - Part 1 - How to Split Equity 

• Part 2 - Splitting Equity Today ( ←YOU ARE HERE 😀)

• Part 3 - Splitting Equity in the Future

• Part 4 - Calculating Startup Equity Splits + FAQ

Phase Four - Equity Management

Let's continue!

Startup founders have been trying to figure out a fair equity split for the founding team since the dawn of time. Sadly, dividing equity between each co-founder tends to be one of the big...