Freelance SEO consultant here. I've audited & worked with Realtors, roofers, chiropractors, e-commerce sites, huge content sites, lawyers, healthcare, restaurants & more. I've seen things man. I can help.
I've done dozens of full scale in-depth technical audits for small, medium and enterprise level business. I've seen the good, the bad and the ugly.
I would make sure to have a "one sheet" for your pricing already created. If you're okay with a discount rate and equity then have that as an option. When you pivot to discussing compensation it becomes as easy as " for compensation for this projects here's a link to our page/PDF for startups. As we outline there we take pride in our work and like to pay our staff on time so we don't work for just equity but do have special rates for startups who designate a portion of equity."