I'd like to bring in a good friend of mine who I believe can contribute This is the key sentence. Work together for a month, with no equity. See how much this

I'd like to bring in a good friend of mine who I believe can contribute This is the key sentence. Work together for a month, with no equity. See how much this potential co-founder actually accomplishes. You'd be amazed by the gap between what you dream may happen and what actually happens. Success is hard. If after a month, you are still super-excited about this co-founder, start discussing an equity split. Always with vesting. No cliff (or very short, that was what the 1-month trial period was for). If a co-founder doesn't receive a salary, then the minimum equity split would be 90/10, all the way to 50/50. FYI, at 90/10 I would behave like a super-adviser, but not a fully committed co-founder. 75/25 is the first "true co-founder" deal I can think of.