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Ask HN: Would you employ someone in exchange for equity?

1 points by hamgav ↗ HN
I've been approached by someone interested in joining my startup in exchange for equity. Obviously I can't afford to pay him a salary at this stage and he won't be investing any cash. What are your thoughts?

2 comments

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floozyspeak
What do they bring to the table and how badly do you need them?
lethain
Do you want this individual as a co-founder?, because that is essentially the role they would be stepping in as. At minimum you would need to write a solid vesting plan of some kind, to prevent the individual from quitting in a month and taking the equity with them.

That said, I would be somewhat suspicious of the situation where someone is willing to work for only equity. Are they already independently wealthy? Are they having trouble finding paying employment?