
Ask HN: I have 5 % stake in a startup, how much should I work? - bhdzllr
I got 5 % stake in a startup because I do technical work for the founders. I have created the website with an online shop and some individual functions in the background. Currently I have invested about 100 hours, the founders knew this beforehand. I get a one-time payment of around $1000.<p>We have discussed that I can do some work during the year, the question now is how much time should I invest? How should I value it?<p>* Should I work 5 % of the hours that I would normally work in a year?
* Should I measure the time based on the expected profit that I could end up with after this year?
* Are there any other measurements?<p>Apart from the startup, I work full-time in a company.
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tboyd47
Your 5% stake is not 5% of a full-time job. It's compensation for the work
you've already done. You earned it already.

Value your time at the same rate anyone else with your skills would command.
Even if you're waiving compensation, value your time at a market rate and keep
track of how much compensation you have waived.

If you want to know how much your 5% is worth, ask the founders how much they
would pay to buy you out.

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rafiki6
Separate your 5% stake (i.e. your ownership in the company) from your salary
as an employee of the company (the amount of money your labor is worth).
Calculate how much that labor is worth on the market and see if the 5% stake
is making up the gap. If not, then you are getting a raw deal. If so, then you
are just fine and should work your normal hours.

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mrfusion
Any value you add to the company you get 5% of that. That’s about all you can
really say.

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mars4rp
And if he thinks others are adding 20x the value he is adding and are not
getting paid as well. Working on it is not such a bad idea.

But I doubt non technical founders are adding 20x value at this stage!

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dudul
> Should I work 5 % of the hours that I would normally work in a year?

That is an odd idea.

Honestly, I feel like you don't provide enough details. All in all, it depends
on if you think this startup can become a big thing. If it does, 5% ownership
can be a really great payout. It's for you to decide if the opportunity is
worth your time or whatever the founders are paying you.

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scaryclam
I hope they're paying you a rate for your work alongside the stake. Working
for free is a mugs game. The stake is worth nothing at this point, so no, it's
not payment in itself.

That aside, holding down a full time job and committing to other work as well
can be tough. Do as much as you feel you can, but say no when you want a
break. Burn out is no fun.

That aside, how much you work depends on you and what you're willing to do.

But again, stakes are not payment, so don't work for free.

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pryelluw
So, 100 hours and got paid a $1000. That means you worked for $10 an hour. Not
great.

The 5% stake is worth nothing at all. It might even be a liability in the case
this company is mismanaged.

Id go for money (more this time) and shared (mostly because you seem to see
value in them).

If you need help negotiating, let me know. I can help out.

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natalyarostova
Just value it like you would any other choice to work. Expected value of an
hour working = (increased probability business succeeds due to an additional
hour of your time) * (expected value of potential cashout based on how you
value their product/idea).

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quickthrower2
Best bet is to keep your 5% lottery ticket, and go work somewhere to get a
slice of another pie, or more money.

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tjkrusinski
The sky is blue, what is that dogs name?

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gesman
Because you do technical work for the founders, here's a quiz for you:

You own 5% of common shares in a startup and startup got an $10M exit. How
much did you get?

A: $500K

B: $50K

C: $0

