Interesting that your figure seems to be similar to the number another commenter came up with (assuming this guy is as good as the founders). What do you think

Interesting that your figure seems to be similar to the number another commenter came up with (assuming this guy is as good as the founders). What do you think of his reasoning? [edit: from 7th para at http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2949795 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2949795] "What he should do if he actually wants to work on the startup: First, he needs to value his contribution to the company over the next 4 years appropriately and put a number on his "sweat equity". Let's say his market salary is $100,000 and he's being paid $50,000. Now add to his base salary: benefits (15% for health insurance, 401k matching), job-loss risk (25%, since typical severance offers are 1/4 tenure at current salary), career risk and opportunity cost (15%), and overage hours (30%, assuming a 50-55 hour work week). That's $185,000 per year. Take that, less the $50,000 he's making, and his sweat equity is $135,000 per year. Over 4 years, that's $540,000. The company's valuation is $2.5 million, "pre" to his contributions. He should be getting about 16% of the company, assuming he remains for 4 years. This number seems high, but if he's there after 4 years he will have been there almost as long as the founders, so it's about right."