Employee Compensation

What is the base salary?

What additional compensation (e.g. performance bonus / commission) is available?

Do you have an equity plan in place?

[If no equity plan has been created] Would it be possible for me to get founder’s stock?

How much equity are you offering?

What percentage of the company does that equity represent on a fully-diluted basis?

Do you have a preference for a higher salary or more equity?

What is the vesting schedule for options? Is there a cliff? (Vesting Schedule and Cliffs)

How long is the exercise window?

Is there an early exercise option?

Will there be accelerated vesting of stock options if the company is sold or I am terminated without good cause? (This is more difficult to negotiate for lower-level employees.)

What health/medical benefits do you offer?

What additional benefits do you offer? (For example: Laptop, internet/phone reimbursement, co-working space reimbursement, gym membership stipend, etc.)

Company Finance and Growth

What stage is your company at? (Pre-seed, post-seed, series A, series B, series C, etc.)

[If money has been raised] When was your last funding round? How much did you raise, and what percentage of the company went to the investors?

When was your last 409A valuation? (What is a 409A valuation?) What was the valuation?