An advisor once quoted us €2,500/month + 10% equity.
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While building my product, an advisor approached me with an offer:
€2,500/month + 10% equity.
At the time, I honestly didn’t know if that was normal.
No vesting.
No clear scope.
No deliverables.
No end date.
I later learned how far outside the usual range that was.
The bigger lesson for me was this: first-time founders often negotiate things they’ve never seen before with people who’ve done it dozens of times.
Now, before agreeing to anything unfamiliar, I ask a few other founders what they actually paid.
Have you ever received an advisor offer that felt off, but you weren’t sure why?
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That's not an advisor offer, that's a co-founder ask with none of the risk. Equity should reflect someone betting on your success, not invoicing for it. I've been approached with similar structures the moment someone leads with a retainer, it tells you exactly where their incentives are. The best advisors I've worked with took small equity, no cash, and introduced themselves by being useful before any agreement existed.
@kassandra_ripley Exactly. The combination of a meaningful retainer and 10% equity was what made it feel so off in hindsight.
I also like your point about advisors proving value before formalizing anything. A small amount of equity tied to clear scope, vesting, and actual contribution feels very different from handing over a co-founder-sized stake upfront.