- Persuade & Raise
- Posts
- ♞ Ownership Paradox
In partnership with
Should you give away more equity?
Most founders treat their equity like a finite pile of gold. They guard it with an intensity, terrified that every percentage point given away is a piece of their future stolen.
But there is a trap in this logic that kills more startups than "bad timing" ever will. It’s the Ownership Paradox: The more you try to own the business, the less business there actually is to own.
Today, we’re talking about why hoarding your cap table is a low-status move that caps your ceiling—and how to reframe dilution as your greatest growth lever.
I’ve seen this play out a hundred times. A founder decides to "keep it lean" to preserve their stake. They end up acting as the CEO, the Head of Sales, the Lead Engineer, and the office janitor.
They think they are being capital efficient. In reality, they are brute-forcing growth.
The math of a solo effort is linear. You can only achieve what your own 24 hours can produce. If you are the only person with a significant stake in the outcome, you are the only person truly "on" at 2 a.m. when things go sideways.
The result? You end up owning 100% of a company that is worth zero because it never gained the velocity required to escape the gravity of your own limitations.
The most successful founders I work with don't want the biggest slice of the pie—they want the biggest pie, period.
They understand that equity isn't just "ownership"; it is incentive alignment. When you bring on top-tier talent and equip them with meaningful equity, you aren't "losing" 5% of your company. You are buying five years of their obsession, their network, and their execution.
Reframing your cap table from a "cost" to a "multiplier" changes the game:
The Social Brain Shift: When your employees feel like owners, the culture shifts from "doing a job" to "building a legacy."
The Investor Signal: Investors want to see a team that is "all-in." A cap table that rewards key hires signals that you are a leader who knows how to attract and retain elite talent.
The Compound Effect: Seven employees making seven figures is a far better outcome than one founder making zero.
If you’re currently agonizing over a 1% grant for a key hire or a 10% pool for your early team, ask yourself: "Is my goal to control a small thing, or to catalyze a massive one?"
Are you looking to fundraise? Here is how I can help:
📱 Book a Strategy Call to get 1:1 feedback on your pitch, pitch deck and/or fundraising strategy.
Onwards and Upwards,
