Why 1% startup equity is often the worst zone, by the numbers
isaacinthesky · x · 2026-09-05
A discussion on startup equity: 1% yields $5M only if the company sells for $500M—which isn't likely—and after California taxes that's $2.5M, potentially less than a staff engineer's pay. Above 2%, or 20bps of a hot AI Series B/C, the math gets genuinely attractive.
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