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Some great advice. However, I prefer to avoid "big reveal" type of offers and instead adopt clarity from the time you consider that the candidate to be a finalist. The ideal scenario for hiring a critical employee is one without surprises: the candidate knows that an offer is coming, they know that the founder is trying to put together a compelling package within financial constraints, they know those constraints because the candidate has met investors and has a clear sense of the business. There should be discussion of current compensation, risk preference (equity vs cash), and the "pre-close" conversation. That is, "If I'm able to get you $175K + 20% bonus and .5% of the company, is that something you'd find appealing?" If they waffle, you have more selling to do.
Recruiting is giving a preview of a working relationship; you'll learn a lot by going through a process in the way you'd solve a work problem together in the future.
Because it can be difficult to value equity in an early stage company, Homebrew often recommends presenting two different offers to a candidate. This asks the person to make a clear choice about his or her compensation preference. For example: Offer A) Base Salary: 125K Equity: 1.25% Offer B) Base Salary: 200K Equity: .75% Offer A will be more appealing to someone for whom equity is the primary motivator and who may be willing to take a cut in cash. Offer B will be for the more conservative candidate who can not take a cash cut in the near term. Assuming you are managing the candidate’s expectations and having conversations about what is most important to the candidate (cash or equity), you should be able to put together a solution
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