Unless any of you have done work that is not proportional to the others (for more, or for less) I believe that everybody should get the same amount of equity.

Unless any of you have done work that is not proportional to the others (for more, or for less) I believe that everybody should get the same amount of equity. The leaving problem is easily fixed by adding a vesting period where no one would be actual owners of their part before N months/years. Payment should be also equal. Otherwise, at some point resentment is going to build and things might get weird and start to fall off (I speak from experience). If one person adds more money at the start of the company they should be repaid (reimbursed) as soon as there is company money. Unless, once again, it is a disproportional amount of money. If that's the case some other arrangement (maybe more equity?) should be made. Leave the unequal payment thing for when (and if) things go really well and the company actually has profits to distribute. At the beginning, everybody gets paid the same as salary and it's also all or nothing. Unless all involved get paid, no one gets paid. When it comes to deciding who calls the shots I believe it doesn't really matter unless there is someone who clearly is a better fit for it. Also, being the CEO or giving directions to others doesn't mean someone is more important than the others. It just means that it is a different role. My last bit of advice is about all the other things you guys didn't think about. Especially when it comes to things that can go bad. I would leverage the fact that this is the beginning and everybody is committed and excited and use this time to think about what to do when bad times come (they will). You should never get into a contract without knowing how to leave it. Find a shareholder agreement and use it as a base to come up with your own rules and agreements.