I'm hiring two new Vice Presidents, and I'd like to offer them some stock, but I'm really not sure how much to offer. The company is already profitable, and it looks like it's going to be around for quite some time. Revenue growth is strong. We're bootstrapping and following a model similar to Balsamiq. Honestly, I don't see us ever accepting investors or even going over 10 employees. Right now, I'm paying a bit below market rate salaries, but should be able to rectify that within the next 6-12 months if revenue growth stays strong.
A typical rule of thumb would be that an established company sets aside around 15% of the outstanding shares at any point in time for employee options. Those get split up among employees based on their contributions.
Depending how key these VPs are relative to other employees you have (remember to give them something also) or expect to hire, you might give them 2-5% each.
This assumes that you are an established company. If one of the VPs is going to quintuple the size of the business, they might push for being more of a 'partner'.
Answered 11 years ago
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