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

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
Lucy Aldridge
3 replies1 Jun 2026