Calculate advisor equity by stage and involvement
Enter your company stage and advisor details. Get a recommendation based on the FAST v3 framework and real market data from 45,000+ companies.
1 Company stage
2 Advisor profile
3 How unique is their value?
4 Company valuation (optional — for dollar value estimate)
Current or estimated valuation in USD
Recommended equity grant
0.35%
Range: 0.25% – 0.50%
Estimated value at current valuation
$7,000
FAST v3 says
0.50%
Carta median
0.21%
Market percentile
65th
Advisory pool impact
7%
of a 5% pool
How your grant compares
Your recommendation plotted against the FAST framework and real market data.
Recommended vesting schedule
2 yrs
Duration
3 mo
Cliff
Monthly
Frequency
After the 3-month cliff, 1/24th of the total grant vests each month. Include a termination clause so you can stop vesting if the advisor isn't delivering. Learn more about vesting →
What to watch for
Share these results
Send this link to your co-founder or advisor so they can see the same benchmarks.
Track advisor contributions automatically
Equity Matrix tracks what each advisor actually delivers — so equity only moves when value does. No more dead equity from advisors who disappear after month two.
How the advisor equity calculator works
The calculator combines three inputs to produce a recommendation grounded in real data.
Stage-based baseline
Company stage determines the base equity amount. Pre-seed advisors take on more risk and earn more equity. Later-stage advisors join a de-risked company and earn less.
Time and involvement multiplier
How many hours per month the advisor commits affects the equity amount. A light-touch advisor at 1-2 hours per month commands about half the equity of someone embedded 10+ hours per month.
Value and uniqueness multiplier
Generic industry knowledge commands a discount. Deep domain expertise with a strong network or exceptional access commands a premium. This factor separates high-value advisors from resume-collectors.
Advisor equity benchmarks by stage
FAST v3 recommendations vs. what companies actually give, based on Carta's data from 45,000+ startups.
| Stage | FAST v3 Standard | FAST v3 Expert | Carta median | Typical range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-seed | 0.50% | 1.00% | 0.21% | 0.10% – 1.00% |
| Seed | 0.25% | 0.75% | 0.11% | 0.05% – 0.50% |
| Series A | 0.10% | 0.50% | 0.07% | 0.03% – 0.25% |
| Series B+ | N/A | N/A | 0.05% | 0.025% – 0.15% |
Red flags to watch for
If an advisor approaches you asking for equity, be cautious. If they're collecting advisory positions across many companies, they're unlikely to give yours meaningful attention. If they can't articulate specific deliverables, they probably won't deliver much. See our full breakdown of when advisors aren't worth the equity.
Tie equity to deliverables
Standard time-based vesting means your advisor earns shares whether they deliver value or not. Roughly half of advisor relationships lose momentum after a few months. Tying vesting to specific milestones — introductions made, strategy sessions attended, concrete deliverables completed — keeps both sides accountable. Learn more about the accountability gap in FAST.