If they seed round give them a valuation of 10M, it means they must have got at least something like 1M for 10% or 500k for 5%, so it seems weird they can't fin

If they seed round give them a valuation of 10M, it means they must have got at least something like 1M for 10% or 500k for 5%, so it seems weird they can't find the money to pay you. Even if 10M valuation is confirmed, you should get more equity to compensate for the risk. Usually, startups without tech co-founder tends to fail so your might want to take account of that when you are accepting equity. If the startup fails, the equity is worthless.