When It Comes to Equity Stakes, There's No Need for Contention We take a look at the issue from both the investors' and founders' point of view.

As a VC guy, I'm often asked by novice investors if there is a magic range of equity that founders should keep in their startup. It's a fair question, as investors are always looking for the secret sauce that makes startups succeed without hiccups--or at least not many.

There's no perfect formula, though. Founder and investor equity negotiations are highly situational and constantly changing, so dialing in a perfect equity number is really a function of keeping everyone motivated and working together. Let's take a look at the issue from both sides of the table.

The Investors' POV