This makes no sense to me: > I cannot leave without their consent either What does that mean? Have you signed something saying that you can not quit? Regard

This makes no sense to me: > I cannot leave without their consent either What does that mean? Have you signed something saying that you can not quit? Regardless, the correct framework to think about this is BATNA http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Best_alternative_to_a_negotiated_agreement http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Best_alternative_to_a_negotiate... If you can't get the deal you want, and you're forced to abide by what you've already signed, what do you give and what do you get? It sounds like either (i) you work for 1 year and get 1/4 of the company, or (ii) you walk away today with 1/4 of the company, but no ability to sell the shares. (We need more data on what that means - are sales of the shares restricted until a certain date? Forever? What?) You are absolutely (both legally and ethically) entitled to some sort of compensation for your work. If you've already got shares, the company can't take them back (unless you've signed a repurchase agreement). The company can, both legally and ethically, dilute you afterwards. They can't issue everyone else 1 million shares each, thus diluting you to 0.00001%, but they can pay each person 2,000 shares per month, in lieu of salary. Over time, you'll end up with a smaller percent ... but that's fair. If they work for no salary for an additional year, they SHOULD have more stock. It's really hard to say more without knowing exactly what you've signed.