Would you give 50% of the ownership of your idea-stage startup to someone who can build it entirely

I find ideas come as you build it, so whoever is helping to build it is gonna evolve the ideas, so yeah starting at 0 from an idea, sounds fine

It's tough. I once saw a quote: Don't outsource your dream. Right now, I'm building my dream, and I wouldn't outsource it because I enjoy the process of building it. However, I would give 50% to someone with the skills I don't have if it came to it at some point.

And think the other way around: would you take 50% ownership of an idea-stage startup of someone who can't build it but you can? :)

An idea is really easy to come up with. If that's all I had, I'd be surprised if I could get anyone to build it even for 100% ownership.

Absolutely!

Ideas are a-plenty. It's who can do the grind to make them happen that takes the cake. If I can't put the execution down, I don't think I can retain equity (unless I'm paying adequate salaries, which is also a way of getting things done). IMO, what separates founders from thinkers is the ability to get shit done.

If you aren't able at all to build it yourself, it's quite a good deal IMO since execution is worth far more than an idea.

It all depends on the person who is building it. If they don't contribute to the product past the initial build out, they should not be an owner. If they don't share the vision for the startup and if you don't have a clear understanding of roles and responsibilities + a buy out clause, then they should not be owners. If you don't execute on the idea you have 100% of nothing vs 50% of something, but in these cases you should really exchange something else (money, services, lending them your car on weekends, etc.) for the build out of your product initially instead of giving ownership to the best coder/builder. Just because they are good at building doesn't necessarily mean they will be good at leading. You can still give them equity if you want, but not 50% from the very beginning. "If you build it, they may not come", you will also need to market this, which takes money, so would that be another 20/30% equity? What about customer support? Sourcing? Sales? Would you be giving out equity for each one of these later? What if you need to raise money and the builder doesn't agree to give some of his equity up for the investors? Think long term and if you are going to give away 50%, make sure it is because that person is the best partner in the long run.

Oh God!!! NEVER

Would need to actually asset their value for the long term, quality & speed of progress, etc.