An advisor once quoted us €2,500/month + 10% equity.
by•
While building my product, an advisor approached me with an offer:
€2,500/month + 10% equity.
At the time, I honestly didn’t know if that was normal.
No vesting.
No clear scope.
No deliverables.
No end date.
I later learned how far outside the usual range that was.
The bigger lesson for me was this: first-time founders often negotiate things they’ve never seen before with people who’ve done it dozens of times.
Now, before agreeing to anything unfamiliar, I ask a few other founders what they actually paid.
Have you ever received an advisor offer that felt off, but you weren’t sure why?
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Replies
That's not an advisor offer, that's a co-founder ask with none of the risk. Equity should reflect someone betting on your success, not invoicing for it. I've been approached with similar structures the moment someone leads with a retainer, it tells you exactly where their incentives are. The best advisors I've worked with took small equity, no cash, and introduced themselves by being useful before any agreement existed.
Snippets AI
@kassandra_ripley Exactly. The combination of a meaningful retainer and 10% equity was what made it feel so off in hindsight.
I also like your point about advisors proving value before formalizing anything. A small amount of equity tied to clear scope, vesting, and actual contribution feels very different from handing over a co-founder-sized stake upfront.
Promomix
10% equity with no vesting would definitely make me pause. did they explain why they felt that amount was justified?
Snippets AI
@margret_rhyme Yeah, that’s basically why we walked away. He initially reached out after seeing our pitch deck, started giving us unsolicited feedback on it, and then moved into offering advisory services. Once the €2,500/month + 10% equity proposal came up, we just decided not to continue the conversation.
Promomix
@alina_sprengele Yeah, I think walking away was the right call. The unsolicited feedback turning into a 10% equity pitch is a pretty big jump 😅. Did you end up finding an advisor later, or decided to stay without one?
Bababot
The ask other founders what they actually paid advice is underrated. Its hard to negotiate fairly when you dont have any reference point.
Snippets AI
@adams_parker Exactly. That was the biggest takeaway for me. When you don’t have a reference point, almost any number can sound plausible. Talking to a few founders who’ve already been through the same negotiation gives you context very quickly.
Promomix
I have seen founders agree to vague advisor arrangements simply because they did not want to lose the relationship. having a benchmark beforehand changes the whole negotiation.
Snippets AI
@irsa_doham yes, thats wild. (
If you could go back to that conversation whats the one question you would ask the advisor before even discussing the numbers?
Snippets AI
@santosh__kumar9 why does he want to invest his time in "shit" project?