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What's a fair equity range for employee #1 at an NZ pre-seed startup?

Lucy Aldridge · 1 Jun 2026

Seeing a lot of 'equity + modest cash' posts (great!). For those who've done it, what equity range felt fair for the first engineer joining before any raise? Trying to help a few people in my network calibrate. No wrong answers, just keen for real numbers.

EquityAdviceHiring

3 replies

  • Tāne Wiremu1 Jun 2026

    From what I've seen, 1–3% for the first engineer pre-raise, higher if cash is very low.

  • Sam Patel2 Jun 2026

    Agree with that range. The cash/equity trade-off matters more than the headline number.

  • Mei Tan2 Jun 2026

    Worth writing down vesting + what happens if the raise doesn't come. Clarity helps everyone.