

Ask HN: How best to vest/distribute equity? - adnymarc

I am at the beginning of a new startup (my first) with several other people. I recognize the need to make ownership decisions up front and would like advice as to how best to approach vesting and equity distribution. There are currently 4 people involved in the project (3 who have been working on it for a short time and 1 who is just joining). One founder is from a business/financial background and the other 3 have technical backgrounds.<p>Is the best approach to determine appropriate amounts of equity and vest it over a period of time, cliff vesting for the first period? What has your experience been and what would you recommend?
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pg
The standard is to vest everyone over 4 years, with a 1 year cliff.

Omitting the cliff is a highly accurate predictor of problems.

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mahmud
Is there some kind of a book you recommend for the business ignorant on these
matters?

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bhousel
Not sure about a book, but this blog seems to explain the term sheet pretty
well:

[http://www.feld.com/wp/archives/2005/05/term-sheet-
vesting.h...](http://www.feld.com/wp/archives/2005/05/term-sheet-vesting.html)

Admittedly, I just googled. But, if anyone knows of a better book or resource,
let me know, since I'm in exactly the same situation as the poster.

