Co-founder splits, vesting, and your first five hires

The frame Most startups die of founder problems, not market problems. Two things prevent the common ones: an honest equity conversation early, and vesting on everyone including the founders. Both feel awkward and both are cheap insurance. The co-founder split · Near-equal beats lopsided. A 90/10 split usually means the 10% person checks out within a year; a 60/40 among equals breeds a decade of quiet resentment. Small differences for real differences (full-time vs part-time, who carries the salary risk) are fine; large ones rarely age well. · Vesting for founders too. Standard is four years with a one-year cliff. If a co-founder leaves after six months, their shares return to the company instead of walking out the door — this protects whoever stays. · Put it in writing before you incorporate: split, vesting, roles, what happens when someone leaves, how you break a tie. · If contributions are genuinely uncertain and pre-funding, look at Slicing Pie — a dynamic model that splits equity by inputs until you raise. Your first hires · Make hire #1 when you are personally the bottleneck on something core and will stay that way — not to look bigger. · Contractor first for anything you're unsure about or that isn't core. Convert to employee once the need is proven and permanent. · Hire for the next twelve months, not the org chart you imagine at Series B. · The first five people set the culture whether or not you write one down. Slow down for these. The option pool Set aside roughly 10–15% for early employees, created as a proper ESOP pool via board resolution. Grant on four-year vesting with a cliff, same as founders. Be explicit with candidates about strike price, vesting and what happens on exit or if they leave — vague equity promises are worse than none. Read in full · Index Ventures — "Rewarding Talent" — the reference on sizing and structuring option grants. · Holloway — Guide to Equity Compensation — plain-English explanations of options, RSUs, taxes and offer negotiation.