Vesting aligns incentives among founders, ensuring they all work together to grow the company before any of them can benefit from their equity.

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.

You should be generous with equity to founders and early employees to foster a sense of ownership and commitment.

When distributing co-founder equity, consider not just immediate contributions but also long-term motivation over the entire vesting period.

Founders should continue to offer equity to employees throughout their tenure, as this incentivizes long-term commitment and aligns interests.

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.

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.