What equity should a founding designer get?
Short answer
FoundingHunt's benchmark puts founding designers at 0.3% to 1.5% at pre-seed, 0.15% to 0.75% at seed, 0.05% to 0.3% at Series A and 0.02% to 0.15% at Series B. Where you land depends mostly on how early you join and how much of product, brand and research you own. Design hires usually sit a little below founding engineers at the same stage.
Founding designer equity depends mostly on how early you join, how much of the product and brand you own, and the company’s stage.
FoundingHunt Benchmark by stage
- Pre-seed: 0.3%–1.5%
- Seed: 0.15%–0.75%
- Series A: 0.05%–0.3%
- Series B: 0.02%–0.15%
These are FoundingHunt Benchmark estimates, the same ranges listings show as Estimated Equity, not employer offers. They sit a little below founding engineers at the same stage (0.5%–2% at pre-seed). For how hire number changes the number, see how much equity to ask for.
What Increases Equity
- Joining earlier (especially pre–product-market fit)
- Being the first and only designer for 12–18 months
- Having full-stack design skills (product, UX, brand, research)
- Prior startup experience from seed to later stages
What Decreases Equity
- Joining after major funding rounds
- Joining an established design team as designer #3+
- Having a narrow, specialist-only skillset
Related questions
Does a founding designer get the same equity as a founding engineer?
Generally a little less. In FoundingHunt’s benchmark, founding designers are 0.3% to 1.5% at pre-seed against 0.5% to 2% for founding engineers, and the gap holds at later stages. It narrows at design-led companies, or where the designer owns product strategy or brand.
Should equity be higher if I'm doing front-end development too?
Often, yes. If you implement your own designs in code, you are doing a design engineer’s job, and FoundingHunt’s benchmark puts design engineers in the engineering range: 0.5% to 2% at pre-seed and 0.25% to 1% at seed. Negotiate on the work you will do, not the title.
How does vesting work for founding designer equity?
Founding designer equity follows the standard 4-year vesting schedule with a 1-year cliff, same as all other early employees. This means 0% vests in the first year, then 25% vests at the 1-year mark, and the remaining 75% vests monthly over the next 3 years. Leaving before the 1-year cliff means forfeiting all unvested shares.