Giving advisors startup equity
The article analyzes advisor equity compensation benchmarks across funding stages and argues that 90%+ of advisor grants are not worth the dilution relative to value delivered. It provides frameworks for evaluating advisor ROI, establishes proper scoping and vesting terms, and uses a Figma IPO case study to illustrate potential advisor wealth creation in rare successful outcomes.
Metrics in this report
0.25percent
median
Pre-seed stage startups, fully diluted, full grant amount
1.04percent
top-quartile
Pre-seed stage startups, fully diluted, full grant amount
0.11percent
median
Seed stage startups, fully diluted, full grant amount
0.40percent
top-quartile
Seed stage startups, fully diluted, full grant amount
0.06percent
median
Series A stage startups, fully diluted, full grant amount
0.12percent
top-quartile
Series A stage startups, fully diluted, full grant amount
0.02percent
median
Series B stage startups, fully diluted, full grant amount
0.06percent
top-quartile
Series B stage startups, fully diluted, full grant amount
90days
Standard PTEP window, though advisors are rarely formally terminated
3months
Typical advisor vesting cliff (or no cliff)
24months
Standard advisor vesting term (can be shorter)
64800000dollars
Estimated return for 0.24% advisor equity post-seed with 55% downstream dilution at $60B market cap
0.20percent
median
Seed stage, hires 6-10, adjusted for 4-year vs. 2-year vesting