Partnership is harder than marriage, in part because getting on the same page, and staying on the same page is incredibly difficult.
Mix into this the shiny toy syndrome that co-founders can fall prey to over time, and it really becomes about dating before getting married.
Every partnership is about creating value through leveraging an opportunity together, not leveraging against each other.
If the partner's value is adding sales, their equity should be tied to vesting as a percentage of the lasting sales that stay in.
If they are creating value through code, it should be seen the same way.
I also very much value hacking on small problems in the desired space to get an idea if people can work together and ship regularly before going steady and getting married.
Mix into this the shiny toy syndrome that co-founders can fall prey to over time, and it really becomes about dating before getting married.
Every partnership is about creating value through leveraging an opportunity together, not leveraging against each other.
If the partner's value is adding sales, their equity should be tied to vesting as a percentage of the lasting sales that stay in.
If they are creating value through code, it should be seen the same way.
I also very much value hacking on small problems in the desired space to get an idea if people can work together and ship regularly before going steady and getting married.