

Ask HN: Any advice for non-founders in a sale? - gonnagetbought

The company I work for is looking to sell. Sorry for the anonymous account, but I'm sure you understand. No one (not VC, not anyone) outside of the founder and co-founder has any equity currently. I am a salaried employee who reports to the founder and has been around to see growth from &#60;20 to &#62;80 employees and ~$1M to &#62;$15M in revenue (&#62;$8M in profit). It looks like the most likely purchasing parties will be private equity firms. The founder has told me that I will be offered equity (from the PE firm) as part of the deal. My questions are:<p>What do I need to do to protect myself?  I assume I need a lawyer to look at any deal I'm offered, but what kind of lawyer?<p>I'm aware of the concept of dilution, but what defense does one have against it?<p>What kind of % should I be looking for to make it worth my while?<p>What else do I need to be looking at #s wise besides %?<p>What kind of experience will I be in for going from completely private company to one that is majority-owned by a private equity firm?<p>Are there any books or people that can shed some light onto the whole practice?<p>Thanks so much for any input.
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brudgers
Do you really want equity, or would you rather have cash now?If you forgo
equity in favor of salary then dilution, etc. are not issues.

If you are considering equity, what is a realistic sales scenario - $50m,
$100m, $1b or $30b ... or $0? PE can swing for the fences because they get
lots of at bats. You get one.

Is it time to learn or time to earn? [http://www.cloudave.com/1246/is-it-time-
for-you-to-earn-or-t...](http://www.cloudave.com/1246/is-it-time-for-you-to-
earn-or-to-learn/)

Finally, unless the offer of equity is in writing the cart is before the
horse. It may just be happy talk to keep you from jumping ship before the deal
goes through [I'm not saying it is, but such things happen].

