After giving money to angels + seed funding + possibly series-A VC funding, having an employee option pool (especially if "employees" include non-founder CFO/CEO/COO) and a second co-founder, you can expect at max 20% percent (usually of common stock, vested with over time). Add to that taxes and (if you took series A or serious seed funding) liquidation preferences and 10% return sounds fairly generous.
strlen, i'm not really sure you know what you're talking about here.
seed funding + series A in a reasonable case is likely to have sold 35% of the company. another 15-25% for option pool leaves 50% or more for the founding team.
similarly, a reasonable liquidation preference is 1x. i doubt you would see aggressive liquidation preferences on something hot enough to then exit quickly via acquisition anyway.
in this case, it's also possible if the founding team has done reasonably that they still control the board, thus making your explanation of "vcs can block an exit" a bit weak at this juncture, as well.
sure, it CAN go badly like you said, but i don't think that's the average case.
Upvoting, great counter point. The percentages (pre-dilution founder percentages, especially) have been what I've personally seen in start-ups I've worked in / consulted for / friends' start-ups. In one case of the founders had only 13%, other two had 20% -- rest going to funders/option pool; in another case -- where there was a "professional CEO" brought in -- one of the founders had <10% and no seat on the board (with only one founder being on the board at all). Granted these may be abnormal cases (the VCs weren't top tier either).
