Why, exactly? Equity ain't free (I actually have a blog post on this: http://www.tonywright.com/2008/a-newbies-guide-to-startup-co... ).

You "buy" equity with risk and lower/no compensation. What is this guy risking? They are funded, so really the only risk is that the owners lose interest or run out of money (a risk you have working ANY small business-- or any business at all in this economy).

Here's some guidelines on what you can expect if you're getting paid roughly market rates:

http://venturehacks.com/articles/option-pool-shuffle#market

If you are the main technical force behind making a product, you should be properly reimbursed for that.

It's like a record label "employing" a solo artist singer for an average wage, and then pocketing all the profits from their music and passing none of it on. It's just a pretty raw deal.

If he's taking market compensation, shouldn't he at least receive a lower equity stake vs. no equity whatsoever? Start-ups will ask you 'do you prefer more shares, or more equity". You can take "market rate, little equity" as an option.

"They're funded" is also mis-leading, as they're still in the process of getting an angel round. The guidelines and the post you've written (which are excellent, by the way) are more for "post series A, pre series B" stage rather "angel round, forming the core team by signing on the first technical person" stage.