Vesting shares or options makes you an owner in the company. Especially for a start-up, you want to keep the number of owners as small as you can. There's a val

Vesting shares or options makes you an owner in the company. Especially for a start-up, you want to keep the number of owners as small as you can. There's a valid business reason not to hand out stock with every paycheck. You want to make sure people are in it for the long haul before you give them an ownership stake. If you're worried about fairness, you could bridge the time pre-vest with a cash reward, or offer a pro-rated cash payment if you quit or are terminated before the 1 year mark.