Important things to consider: Vesting Schedule. Do you plan to be there long enough to get the whole allotment? If not, figure how much you'll really get. Tax

Important things to consider: Vesting Schedule. Do you plan to be there long enough to get the whole allotment? If not, figure how much you'll really get. Tax Consequences. There are very real situations in which you can wind up with a tax bill and a bunch of illiquid stock. If you get a significant equity or options grant, run it by a tax accountant so you can avoid gotachas that may be coming in the future. The strike price can be a significant amount of money - make sure there's a way to handle that. This is especially troublesome for contractors (as opposed to employees). Salary. The more you want, the less you'll get in equity. Note that it is not automatically bad to ask for money. Equity is often worth more to founders than to employees. Transparency. How open is the company about their cap table, bank account, and income statement?. The less info you have, the less you'll be able evaluate your equity, which makes it less valuable to you. Investment. Who has invested and what are the goals? Long term cash flow? Flip? IPO? This has a big impact on liquidity, its timing, and the form it might take. But the real answer to your question is "get as much as you can, and make sure you cross the t's and dot the i's" there is no magic formula.