Vesting is crucial for founders because it prevents a situation where a founder leaves the company and takes a significant portion of equity with them, which would be unfair to the remaining founders.

Founders need to be incentivized to continue working on their startup; without vesting, they could walk away with full ownership at any time, which undermines their commitment to the company.

Single founders should implement vesting on their shares to set a cultural example for employees, demonstrating that everyone is committed to the long-term success of the company.

Equity should vest over time, meaning co-founders earn their shares gradually, and cliffs ensure they must stay for a minimum period to receive any equity.

Vesting means that founders gain full ownership of their stock over time, and if they leave before the vesting period ends, they may lose unvested shares.

The primary safety mechanism for giving equity is implementing vesting and a cliff, which ensures that co-founders earn their equity over time.

In a startup with multiple founders, equity allocation should ideally be equal to avoid potential conflicts and ensure trust among the team.

If you don't establish vesting for co-founders, a fallout can lead to dead weight on your equity table, making it hard to attract investors.

Implementing vesting and cliffs protects the cap table and allows for smoother transitions if a co-founder needs to leave.