How to value your equity grant at a startup

MVP is not a Maximum Viable Product. For small teams, it’s about tackling small problems with sharp precision. Leaving a deep mark on the market with limited force — that’s the true strategy of early-stage startups.

This really resonates with us at Zumma. When we started tackling expense invoicing in Mexico, many said it was "just a feature" and not ambitious enough. Good thing we didn't listen! It turns out it was the perfect starting point, and it opened the door for bigger adjacent opportunities in autonomous finance. The lesson? Start with the right-sized problem. Nail it. Then scale to adjacent opportunities.🚀

Your startup doesn’t need to scale. We’ve created this bizarre culture where every founder is expected to build a unicorn. Anything less than exponential growth is considered failure.  You’re either going to be worth a billion dollars or you’re wasting everyone’s time. But most of the best products in the world aren’t built by companies chasing hypergrowth. - Basecamp has been profitable for 20+ years and intentionally stays small.  - Craigslist could be worth billions but runs on like 50 people.  - Plenty of indie game studios create masterpieces with tiny teams and make enough to keep creating. They’re not failing. They’re winning at a different game. The obsession with scale has created a generation of founders who: • Raise money they don’t need • Hire faster than they should • Burn cash on growth hacks instead of building something people love • Exit (or die) before they ever see their vision fully realized Meanwhile, the “small” companies are still around, still creating, still profitable and still in control of their own destiny. PS: I just launched a comic universe, and I’m intentionally building it the “wrong” way, with community at the core, focused majorly on craft. If you’re a comic lover who wants to be part of something from the ground up, check out the link below.

I can’t believe it...I just helped close a $1,000,000,000 fund. Thanks to partners committed to REAL, DRASTIC, IMMEDIATE change. You saw past the glitter and the performative noise that let 9 of 10 startups fail year after year. You recognized that the same people who burned billions on failed plans cannot keep celebrating raises without ever taking accountability for how resources were wasted. We wired the first commitments today. The mandate is simple: create capital that builds lasting ecosystems where creators, tradespeople, and communities capture meaningful value for work that matters. The vehicle will fund product teams, community-run co-ops, training hubs, and regional ventures that prove a different economy is possible. Early targets include scalable relationship technology, regenerative local businesses, apprenticeship-first training networks, and creative enterprises that pay actual living wages. Here is how the funds will be put to work: 20% → Platform / product builds (tools for coordination, talent, commerce) 20% → Community capital (grants, equity for worker co-ops, local business incubators) 15% → Training & placement networks for in-demand trades 15% → Market-making & liquidity infrastructure in tokenized economies 10% → Cultural & arts infrastructure 20% → Ops, partnerships, legal, reserves Day one actions: hire operators in Detroit, Tulsa, and Hawaii. Open three pilot training houses. Deploy a product sprint to ship an intent aware relationship OS with white-glove pilots. Partner with community organizations for co-op formation and run the first cohort of apprentices within 90 days. Move fast. Measure outcomes. Share everything learned publicly so others can copy the model and improve it. This is a prank. This is a thought experiment. If it were real, here’s the question I’d ask: why do we keep giving money to people who have never lived the problems they claim they’ll solve? If this fund existed, it would back lived experience, proven grinders, and people already moving the needle with minds because it's behind barriers and they can't touch it with their hands. That’s where a billion dollars becomes more than a headline.

Saw some dude yesterday telling everyone they should hustle for more equity, and then he deleted the post. It’s highly unlikely that, as an assistant to the senior smurf, you’d be able to negotiate for more equity anyway. It really depends on when you’re joining the startup, in what role, and what you’re bringing to the table. If you’re young and carefree, by all means, startup equity could be your winning lottery ticket. But in most cases, you’re better off with a higher salary. A nice balance works well too. Most startups will never have a meaningful exit, that’s just the reality. From my humble experience: 50% of zero = ZERO. Remember, kids, you can’t pay the mortgage, bills, or feed the family with equity. And even if you do get equity, there are all sorts of investor liquidation preferences that might prevent you from extracting much value, especially if they aren’t structured in your favour. Imagine your partner comes home after work, and you greet them with: “Guess what we’re having for dinner, babe? It’s your fried favorite 5% of equity, served with a side of magic BananaAI promises!” I’d love to see your partner’s face. Will your child play with toys you exchanged for equity at the local store? You might be able to pull that off once, but it’ll definitely be the first and last time.

Scaling to $10M isn’t about more money. It’s about killing what worked at $1M before it kills you. Most founders believe that scaling is all about growing the team, raising funds, more tools, more advanced office. They think if we are doing $1M with 20 people, then to do $10M we have to hire 200 people. At $1M, every task goes to manual approval. The founder is involved in everything, in every task, in every approval. You need to automate all that. You need to create systems. Systems can grow sales, if you do it the right way. The top-level employees also need to become leaders. They need to deliver and automate things. They need to treat themselves like operators. Build systems Delegate Measure Stop anyone interrupting anyone. Route work through systems. Kill interruptions When you are growing, you need to remove some things. Some employees are not a fit. Some systems are not a fit. Example: weekly manual approvals; “everyone in every meeting.” Removing it is harder. These things helped grow your startup. Revenue is growing, so it feels safe to keep old things. People feel emotionally attached to some systems and people. But when founders don’t kill these things, decision-making takes weeks. Everyone is working harder, but results are slower. You can miss the next funding round because your revenue is flat. Founders feel anxiety and tension about why it’s all happening. If you are a founder or you are going to become a founder or CEO, you need to absorb this fundamental: less is more. If you are scaling a startup, it is not about doing more. It is about doing less, in the best way. Tell me. What is one thing that stops growing to $10M from $1M? And why is it stopping most startups? I’ve observed that whoever is stuck at flat revenue, it is not because of the product, not the market. It is because of systems. Because of things you are not ready to leave.

Most creators think equity is free money. It’s not. It’s a lottery ticket. "Equity = Free Money" is a Myth A UK creator DM’d me this weekend: “Should I take equity instead of £50K cash?” I’ve been there, as an investor, founder, early team member and board member. Do I take the equity on the off chance it changes your life. I've seen the 1% success stories. But I've seen the 99% casualties even more. Most times it costs you years of unpaid work imho. Here's the math nobody shows you, your odds (at seed stage): - 70% chance of zero (worthless) - 27% chance of disappointing returns - Only 3% chance of life-changing wins Here’s why: - 90% of startups fail in year one (CB Insights) - 75% of VC-backed startups don’t make money (Harvard) - Most die before age five Only 1 in 10 makes it past year five Even “funded” startups often lose everything! If you trade $50K cash for equity, ask yourself: a. Can you wait years (not months) to see a penny? b. What type of equity is it? c. Will new investors shrink your slice? d. What happens if you leave early? e. Is this fully vested or vesting schedule? f. Is the equity attributed to you as an individual or your company? g. How much tax do you pay, and when? h. Is the company in the same tax jurisdiction as you? And that is just to start! People who say “bet on yourself” often already have their cash locked in. Protect yourself. Diversify your income sources. I am NOT saying no to equity. I am asking you to say yes to asking more questions. Understand the risks, your cash flow, your revenue pipeline, time investment. It’s a juggling act and not a straightforward decision as many make it out to be. Want to know more about equity types, tax traps, and how to negotiate? Drop a comment or DM me, I’m posting more on this soon. Sources: CB Insights, Harvard Business School (Shikhar Ghosh), a16z portfolio data, PitchBook, Startup Genome

We love telling everyone, “I’m working around the clock.” But we hate realizing all those hours just keep us spinning… not winning. Hustle alone won’t get you anywhere—execution does. But listen carefully: → Endless to-do lists rarely build empires. → “I’ll just grind more” is how founders burn out. → Quantity without execution is like running on a hamster wheel. You don’t need more hours. You need better execution. Because here’s the real plot twist: ↳ Quantity builds momentum — execution builds impact. ↳ Chasing endless tasks won’t scale your startup — focused actions will. ↳ Showing up isn’t enough — showing up smartly changes the game. Here's some real-life founder examples: • Elon Musk : Working insane hours at SpaceX/Tesla — but each launch and car rollout is precisely executed. vs. the overworked founder spinning in circles with no clear plan — still debugging 6 months later. • Sara Blakely (Spanx): Hundreds of prototypes, but her focus on perfect execution made her a billionaire. • Brain Chesky & Joe G. (Airbnb): Countless cold pitches didn’t guarantee funding — refining their pitch landed their first investors. • Whitney Wolfe Herd (Bumble ): Early team hustled non-stop, but strategic execution is what made Bumble a global brand. • Patrick Collison (Stripe): Code for 12 hours straight? Sure. But prioritizing clean, scalable code is what built Stripe’s reliability and trust. So what do you think about that? Stop glorifying grind for grind’s sake. Start executing for results. PS: Your hustle won’t get you funded if it’s messy. Focus your energy, execute with precision, and celebrate the small wins (even if it’s just finally fixing that one bug). ♻️ Repost if you agree!

Most tech founders don’t fail because they run out of hustle. They trip up because they forget one thing: real business strategy. It’s easy to get caught chasing every problem. Something breaks, a client churns, a big customer wants a new feature—so you step in. It feels productive. It looks like leadership. But it’s a trap. In the early days, reacting fast can save you. When you start scaling, it can drown you. I’ve seen founders who are brilliant coders and bold salespeople. But as the team grows and the market gets tougher, they hit a wall. Their focus is everywhere. Fires flare up daily. They’re busy—never bored—but progress stalls. Here’s the tricky part: strategy feels slow. It’s uncomfortable to step back and ask big questions. Why are we trying to win this market? Are we solving the right problem? Does this decision fit our long-term play, or is it just putting out a fire? I once watched a founder pour months into pleasing a single enterprise customer. It drained the team and sent product plans off track. When the client left, so did half the roadmap. All because there was no clear strategy to say, “This isn’t our game.” When founders remember to lead with strategy, the change is obvious. The team stops spinning. People stop asking, “What are we doing next?” Ownership and focus go up. Stress goes down. Scaling isn’t about working more hours or solving every issue yourself. It’s about knowing which problems actually matter—and having the courage to ignore the rest. Funny how easy it is to forget that when things get moving. What’s your take—is strategic thinking underrated in tech leadership, or do we just talk about it the wrong way?

Don’t focus on these things until your startup makes at least $10k: Three days ago, I gave a presentation to university students about a bootstrapped business  “Persikas.com”, which made $1M in two years. During the presentation, I talked about what to do and what not to do until your startup makes at least $10k. So, what should you do to test your idea? 1.    Choose a niche, preferably in health, relationships, or finance. These niches are the easiest and always have customers. Don’t try to invent something new, it’s too hard, and you don’t have enough capital and skills. 2.    Copy someone else’s business that’s already making money, and make it 5% better (product-, content-, or strategy-wise). 3.    Think of a simple and memorable name. 4.    Create a Facebook page and a landing page. Integrate Stripe for payments. 5.    Launch Facebook ads or create valuable content for a while, then ask people to buy your product. 6.    Repeat this process until you make $10k. Don’t do this early on: 1.    Hire a team, you need speed and creativity, not structure. 2. Don’t focus on your logo and branding, it’s usually procrastination. 3. Register a company, start charging first, formalize later. 4. Outsource,  contractors don’t care; do it yourself. 5. Add features, simplicity wins. Focus on one problem, later on your customers will tell you what they want. 6. Start side projects, focus on one project or burn out. 7. Seek VC. VC don’t fund beginners, especially in Europe. 8. Attend events, they’re a distraction. 9. Build dark mode, just solve one problem well. To sum up, stay lean, validate, earn $10k as soon as possible, then do other things.