I think your rhetoric is unhelpful, even if the arrangements you suggest are right. Try explaining why, otherwise it seems like more unjustified advice from someone random.
>Want some real numbers? At this point there are two choices: >a) Full Salary + 1-2% equity. or b) 8-10% equity vested over >4 years and minimum wage salary.
I have actually offered something roughly similar to option a) to several other promising candidates, but nobody was interested. I really need to hire another engineer, and I have already been searching for several months, and the search itself is a distraction, so I want to get it over with.
The other thing is that I have known and worked with this guy for several years, so I can be confident about his technical abilities to a greater degree than I can be about some random guy that I interview. Unless you have worked with somebody, you never really can tell how good they are, at least I can't. That's why I am willing to offer my friend a generous package with full salary and 5-10% equity. The way I figure, with him on board, the overall pie should increase by more than enough to compensate for the 5-10% equity that I would give him.
Want some real numbers? At this point there are two choices: a) Full Salary + 1-2% equity. or b) 8-10% equity vested over 4 years and minimum wage salary.
Paying full salary AND 10% equity, when the startup is already beyond ramen profitable stage is insane, it only makes sense if the guy is a real genius. I mean Larry Page/Sergey Brin level, and on top of that his knowledge, is something that you MUST have. Noone else in the world has that knowledge, and you NEED it to get your product to the next level. Then, and only then can you even consider that sort of deal