Founders - here are benchmarks for how much equity your first 6 hires may receive, split by sector.
Startup founders want to attract the best talent - it may be the core part of the founder role (hiring the exact right people to bring this idea to life). But they also are cognizant of equity depletion and the difficulty it can introduce when fundraising from VCs.
Rock, hard place.
Plus the added layer now of AI! How many employees do you truly need to build a VC-backed company? The answer is shifting by the month.
Benchmarks below are from over 9,000 initial equity grants given to the first 10 hires at startups in the last year. You can see that the first hire has a median equity grant of 1.4%-1.5% of fully diluted company shares (that's the full 4-year percentage, by the way).
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗝𝘂𝗺𝗽𝘀 𝗢𝘂𝘁
1. Hire number 1 is really a different conversation from everyone else. Lots of art, very little science.
2. Deep tech employees tend to get just a smidge more than software ones, but the difference is minimal.
3. Wow, those medians fall off really quickly. By Hire 6, you're already seeing grants center around 0.3% or so.
4. The total option pool burn from the first 5 hires, if you hired exactly at the median each time (which of course no one actually does but stay with me here) would be ~3.5%. Many companies will get through their first 10 hires without using up even 5% of total company equity.
5. Who are these people? Engineers, by and large. About 65% or so of the first 6 hires across the whole pool were engineers.
6. Have these equity packages gotten bigger? I mean look at the WILD comp packages now being thrown around for critical AI researchers at major labs...but no, they haven't really grown lately.
Note that there are many ways to improve ownership for early employees! Refresh grants. Adjusted vesting schedules. RSAs vs ISOs. Extended exercise periods. Equity education. Secondary liquidity (down the road).
I hope these benchmarks help a hiring founder and a would-be first employee 🙏
#startups #employeeequity #founders #foundingengineer #equity
DISCLOSURE: This communication is on behalf of eShares, Inc. dba Carta, Inc. ("Carta"). This communication is for informational purposes only, and contains general information only. Carta is not, by means of this communication, rendering accounting, business, financial, investment, legal, tax, or other professional advice or services. This publication is not a substitute for such professional advice or services nor should it be used as a basis for any decision or action that may affect your business or interests. Before making any decision or taking any action that may affect your business or interests, you should consult a qualified professional advisor. This communication is not intended as a recommendation, offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security. Carta does not assume any liability for reliance on the information provided herein. © 2026 Carta. All rights reserved. Reproduction prohibited.
