Let me guess, you're not a Silicon Valley tech company? In S.V., it usually goes like this:
* A couple of people have an idea, and quit their job (or didn't have a job), build a quick prototype, pitch it. Maybe they spend a couple of months at a startup summer camp like YCombinator
* They raise seed funding or a small first round
* ...and then immediately hire Employee #1 at 1% equity, and it's their job to build the first "real" usable version of the product. Employee #2 follows shortly at <1%.
The risky investment put in by founders often amounts to: "We had to spend a few months grabbing coffee with potential investors"
* A couple of people have an idea, and quit their job (or didn't have a job), build a quick prototype, pitch it. Maybe they spend a couple of months at a startup summer camp like YCombinator
* They raise seed funding or a small first round
* ...and then immediately hire Employee #1 at 1% equity, and it's their job to build the first "real" usable version of the product. Employee #2 follows shortly at <1%.
The risky investment put in by founders often amounts to: "We had to spend a few months grabbing coffee with potential investors"