Question
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.
Answer
The future is always the future...don't tie anything to where you expect to go. Some stock should be the first two ppl in your stock option plan which should be no more than abt 5 percent. You need to keep as much equity as you can and if you're paying them and pretty well be satisfied with that...a lot of companies offer more stock if they can't pay. You can always do a lower buy in, faster vesting etc to incentivize them but keep the actual minimal as you never know what future holds
