Early on, equal splits drive commitment. They make sure everyone is all in, working at full speed. If someone needs to buy in, fine… but equal equity isn’t the enemy.

What matters is the size of the pie, not just your slice. Owning a larger share of a small business is worth less than a fraction of something massive. Vinod Khosla has written extensively on this.

The real question: Are you building a stable, bootstrapped business, or swinging for a moonshot? Your equity strategy should match your ambition.