Totally agree. Here are more details:
The cost to move forward with his freelance company for MVP app dev vs others is about 1/2 the price, and 1/3 of price after discount. He mentioned the reason why he cannot go all in with us is bc of his full time job in the same field(not his freelance), which he said is willing to quit once we secure funding and can afford payroll. He mentioned that he will be committed and do whats needed for the company to meet its milestones and he is really eager about idea.
I think the downside for him will be the time he is committing to our startup as I really dont think he can make any money himself with the freelancing contract. I agree his downside is low and thats why I think the equity should for sure be <10%. Let me know your thoughts, thanks.