

Anyone ever hired a freelancer on equity? - gdhillon

Just wondering if anyone has ever hired a freelancer on equity. I'm working with someone on oDesk.com and he seems to be a good fit. Just wondering it is a right move to offer him equity to come on board?<p>Thanks,
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thiagofm
I'm going to go against the people that have commented here until now.

The best you can do is take a look at how much is him helping you with the
startup and you can somehow guess if he's going to leave the project anytime
soon. (obvious)

Let's suppose you are giving X% equity for him and in your eye and your
startup is worth Y atm(you should have that in mind?). If X*Y(the amount of
"cash" you are giving him) is BIGGER than the value that he will bring for
your company(be sure of it!), give him that equity!

Also, don't forget that most of people take a lot of influence from others,
so... if he's THAT kind of developer(or anything else) that could make your
business fly, be a leader(in the good way) and motivate him to devote to your
cause.

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hagyma
It is a gamble... I would probably continue to pay him for his services.
Things and thoughts are different when someone is working for equity...

I'm planning to write an article soon about my experiences doing that. Your
question just reminded me of that.

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gdhillon
Thanks Hagyma. Looking forward to your article.

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ig1
A word of warning: It can mess you up when it comes to raising future
investment rounds if random people no-longer involved with the company own
equity.

