There are two types of people who would attempt to work full time for six months without a salary: 1) A well established developer (read: savings and connectio

There are two types of people who would attempt to work full time for six months without a salary: 1) A well established developer (read: savings and connections) who would likely request a "founder" level of equity, perhaps even a plurality of shares. 2) A junior developer (read: recent graduate) who may not have the technical acumen to "understand the big-picture, make strategic recommendations for technology decisions, and guide other developers." Further, he may not have the resources to live for six months without a salary. I don't think these are necessarily bad situations, just that your goals seem unrealistically high. To answer your question, I would work for equity if I had an expectation of a market rate salary within a year and a large payout (5-10x yearly salary) within three years. The idea would have to be stellar with a dream team of co-workers. In particular I'd look for access to capital and marketing prowess.