u/IndependentBright524

How much equity is fair for a late co-founder joining post-MVP as CSO?

Hey everyone, I posted a question about this before, but I didn’t provide enough context.

Background:

I founded a startup with my brother seven months ago. We worked on the idea and developed an MVP, but we haven’t received any funding or signed any clients yet. We’ve validated the idea, the MVP is functional, and we’re actively refining it while simultaneously reaching out to investors and early customers. Right now, we’re focused on testing the MVP and plan to start reaching out to potential clients next month.

Last month, a new “late” co-founder joined us. She has significant experience in her field and previously held a senior position at a large company. She’ll be involved in both the technical and sales sides of the business.

The situation:

We’re bringing on a third co-founder. She’s a former Head of Cybersecurity at a major global non-US company, and she brings serious technical credibility in security. Here’s why she matters to us specifically: One of our product pillars is security for a heavily regulated industry.

Here’s what we expect her to work on as CTO:

\-Leading cybersecurity and privacy architecture

\-Working with the Head of DevOps (my brother) to manage the IT infrastructure

\-Handling customer-facing technical sales and demos.

\-Contributing to business strategy and investor conversations

My questions:

Is 15–20% fair or too generous for a post-MVP late co-founder, even given the product context?

Does the nature of the product (security/privacy platform) change the calculus?

Any advice on vesting structure? We’re thinking 4-year vesting with a 6-month cliff, given that she’s joining an already moving company.

Is there anything we’re missing in this cap table structure?

I’d appreciate any honest feedback. We want to get this right before we start fundraising.

Hey everyone, I posted a question about this before, but I didn’t provide enough context.

Background:

I founded a startup with my brother seven months ago. We worked on the idea and developed an MVP, but we haven’t received any funding or signed any clients yet. We’ve validated the idea, the MVP is functional, and we’re actively refining it while simultaneously reaching out to investors and early customers. Right now, we’re focused on testing the MVP and plan to start reaching out to potential clients next month.

Last month, a new “late” co-founder joined us. She has significant experience in her field and previously held a senior position at a large company. She’ll be involved in both the technical and sales sides of the business.

The situation:

We’re bringing on a third co-founder. She’s a former Head of Cybersecurity at a major global non-US company, and she brings serious technical credibility in security. Here’s why she matters to us specifically: One of our product pillars is security for a heavily regulated industry.

Here’s what we expect her to work on as CTO:

-Leading cybersecurity and privacy architecture

-Working with the Head of DevOps (my brother) to manage the IT infrastructure

-Handling customer-facing technical sales and demos.

-Contributing to business strategy and investor conversations

My questions:

Is 15–20% fair or too generous for a post-MVP late co-founder, even given the product context?

Does the nature of the product (security/privacy platform) change the calculus?

Any advice on vesting structure? We’re thinking 4-year vesting with a 6-month cliff, given that she’s joining an already moving company.

Is there anything we’re missing in this cap table structure?

I’d appreciate any honest feedback. We want to get this right before we start fundraising.

I founded a startup with my brother seven months ago. We worked on the idea and developed an MVP, but we haven't received any funding yet. Last month, a new 'late' co-founder joined us; She has significant experience in her field and previously held a senior position at a large company. She will be involved in both the technical and sales sides of the business. We have currently allocated 65% of the equity to the co-founders and reserved 35% for future investors and employees. How much equity should we give her?

I founded a startup with my brother seven months ago. We worked on the idea and developed an MVP, but we haven't received any funding yet. Last month, a new 'late' co-founder joined us; She has significant experience in her field and previously held a senior position at a large company. She will be involved in both the technical and sales sides of the business. We have currently allocated 65% of the equity to the co-founders and reserved 35% for future investors and employees. How much equity should we give her?