Сколько и как правильно давать эквити адвайзерам
Не буду грузить вас теорией, покажу просто пример наших недавних торгов, с экспертом из одного конкретного рынка, кто имеет много коннекшенов, и готов активно ими пользоваться, чтобы приводить больших клинетов.
У нас никогда не было адвайзеров, потому что без KPI (часы в месяц, интро, и тд) слишком высок шанс мертвого эквити для стартапа, а с KPI адвайзерам оказывается нужно работать, и выгоднее просто инвестировать и ничего не делать.
Этот товарищ предложил какие то безумные условия, и хотел 3% эквити (но все равно хорошо, что мы дождались чтобы он первый сказал свою цену), поэтому нужно было полностью рефреймить его ожидания с нуля:
Hey thanks for your input, we also discussed it internally and arrived to something that is closer to market standards and would be tied to business value as we discussed on the call.
1. For the total amount, the median amount of advisory equity in our stage is around 0.25% (if we consider us pre-seed, but more fairly we would be at seed with 0.11% median), this is the number that is standard in the industry and it persists through the years (you can see the stats I send below). 3% is straight ahead impossible, such advisory packages do not exist for the US-based companies, even if you were Marc Andreessen. For the reference, YC takes 7% and it's considered a questionable deal, and in the next round of funding we going to sell 10% max. 3% to one individual will ruin our cap table and will make us unfundable. 0.25% is a standard for full time advisors.
2. For the KPI structure, the easiest is to tie it to MRR generated by clients introduced by you, say 100k to unlock the full package, if one contract can generate 5-10k it's should be very feasible in the lifetime of the company. Given our margins, it translates roughly to 50k cash investment, which is on the line with our valuation (if you were to buy these 0.25% instead of getting them through introductions). We can split them in 5 milestones, where each 20k in MRR unlocks 1/5 of the full package. This way if it works and we keep working with you - it works for everyone, progressively. If for some reasons clients don't convert or your intros don't materialize into revenue, we don't lose equity for the promises, and cap our downside. If it kinda works, say we contracted 40k, but then something happens or you lose interest, you will get proportional share of your package for the part that worked out.
Open to your suggestions, but this structure seems more fair, as it doesn't depend on time, and syncs your success with our success.
Его коррекции на это, кстати, тоже были вполне резонные, поэтому делюсь с вами, если окажитесь на другой стороне стола:
Thanks for the detail, I appreciate the transparency on the numbers and I understand the logic behind the 0.25%.
On the KPI-based structure, I agree with the underlying approach: it ties my incentive to the value I bring and protects you from the risk of equity handed out without concrete results. I'd like to refine a few points to make it more balanced, though:
- Even a performance-based advisor puts time, network, and credibility on the table from day one. I'd propose a small upfront stake (e.g. 0.05%), separate from the milestones, to cover this baseline contribution.
- if my intro generate more than the 100k target, it would make sense to have an additional package or continuation mechanism, rather than capping at 0.25%
- Is there a deadline for hitting the milestones? If so, I'd say a 24-36 month window seems reasonable given typical sales cycles.
- How attribution is tracked (first contact vs closed deal), and whether renewals/expansions from an introduced client continue to count toward MRR over time.
- In case of exit or acquisition before milestones are completed — I'd propose a mechanism for accelerated, prorated vesting based on progress made up to that point, so I don't lose everything due to an event outside my control.
Let me know what you think — I'm open to finding a balance that works for both of us.
