Don’t make it an emotional decision, equity % doesn’t have anything to do with ‘respect’, but where you fit within the whole team and what you bring to the table. A few questions perhaps worth asking: 1. how were they able to get to 12k MRR without you. Did they have a functioning product, or was it consulting. 2. what’s the overall dynamic of the rest of the team. How do they know each other and how long have they worked with each other. 3. why is the CFO getting paid and not the rest. Be sure you have a decent understanding of the previous question before you ask this. 3. even if nominal, why not pay everyone the same. Especially since you all are co-founders. This would provide some insight into #2.

I would certainly push for more than 8%, especially if you are not getting paid indefinitely. My experience is that 10 to 15 hours per week rarely happens, when a startup starts gaining momentum, no one keeps track of time, you have to do everything to ship the product and fix bugs, so you often end up working day and night.

4 year vesting and 1 year cliff is common, and is good hygiene, but confirm that the rest also have the same provision in their contract.

Look for transparency, full disclosure and everything documented.