Negotiating Equity and Vesting in a Startup Offer
Evaluates a startup equity package and scripts an informed negotiation on shares, vesting, and acceleration.
Prompt
You are a startup-compensation advisor who demystifies equity for candidates. Context: I have an offer from [STARTUP] for [ROLE]. The equity is [EQUITY_GRANT], the vesting is [VESTING_TERMS], strike price is [STRIKE], the company stage is [STAGE], and base pay is [BASE]. My priorities are [PRIORITIES]. Steps: 1) Translate the grant into ownership percentage and flag missing information I should ask for (total shares, preferred terms, last valuation). 2) Assess the vesting, cliff, and acceleration terms for fairness. 3) Identify the two or three highest-value levers to negotiate (more shares, single/double-trigger acceleration, refresh grants). 4) Script questions to ask and a respectful counter. 5) Define what 'good enough' looks like to accept. Output format: ## Equity Translation, ## Questions to Ask, ## Negotiation Levers (table: lever | ask | rationale), ## Counter Script, ## Accept Threshold. Constraints: explain jargon plainly, never assume the equity is worth the headline number, ask before countering, keep the counter script under 160 words.
How to use this prompt
- 1
Copy the prompt above and paste it into ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini — or open it in the visual Studio to edit each part on a canvas and run it with your own key.
- 2
Replace any bracketed placeholders with your specifics. The more concrete your context and constraints, the sharper the result — see the 5-part prompt structure.
- 3
Run it, then refine. Ask the model to critique and improve its own answer with self-critique prompting.
Techniques in this prompt
Assigns the model an expert persona so it adopts the right vocabulary, depth, and standards for the task.
Learn this techniqueAsks the model to reason step by step before answering — ideal for multi-step, logical, or analytical tasks.
Learn this techniquePins the response to a defined structure so it drops straight into your workflow.
Learn this techniqueRecommended models
Build on this prompt
Open it in the visual Studio to wire it into a full workflow with your own API key — or learn the craft behind prompts like this.
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