Well, if you expect them to work for free, on your idea, then I personally would not agree to anything less than 50%. Almost all startups fail, so I'd be buying

Well, if you expect them to work for free, on your idea, then I personally would not agree to anything less than 50%. Almost all startups fail, so I'd be buying a (very expensive) lottery ticket. Keep in mind that I could be working on my own idea instead if I could afford it. Very few ideas are attractive enough to persuade me to join. But if you're ready to offer some salary (even if just 50% of the market rate), then of course 50% equity would be too generous.