Article · 12 min read
How to Structure Startup Equity for Early Hires
Pear VC Free Intermediate
A focused guide on the early employee side: how to size grants for your first several hires and set up the option pool. It gives concrete percentages that sit clearly below co-founder territory, which is exactly the line you are drawing. Read it alongside the Carta data for a full picture.
- Size early hire grants by seniority and join order, in fractions of a percent to a few percent
- Reserve an option pool up front so grants come from a plan
- Early hires get real equity, but an order of magnitude below co-founders
