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FAQ

The things people ask before they sign.

Straight answers on equity ranges, milestone vesting, jurisdictions and what happens when an engagement ends early.

The basics

A small, defined slice of a company's equity traded for a specific piece of senior work. The percentage is set per engagement and agreed before anything starts, so a founder can bring in several operators without losing control of the cap table.

Three groups. Pre-seed founders who need judgment they cannot afford in cash. Senior operators, usually employed full time, who want startup upside without leaving their job. And investors who would rather read evidence than a deck.

Freelance marketplaces move cash for hours. GetSweaty moves equity for outcomes, and the paperwork that makes the trade enforceable is the product.

Equity and vesting

The instrument is an option agreement, signed before work starts and covering the full equity on offer. Vesting is milestone-based, not time-based: the opportunity is broken into milestones, each carrying its own slice of the options and its own due date, and that slice vests when the deliverable is completed and verified. Vested options are a right to acquire shares, not shares themselves — they become shares only if they are exercised, which is a separate step under the terms of the agreement.

Price the outcome, not the hours: a role that unblocks a quarter is worth more than a role that fills a calendar. Write each milestone as something the operator delivers and you can verify by looking at it, not as a company result that depends on things outside their control. Vague milestones and unwinnable milestones both end the same way. Whatever you land on is stated on the listing and written into the agreement before work begins.

Only the milestones that were completed and verified vest. The options attached to the remaining milestones lapse, and that equity stays with the company. Both sides hold the same signed record, so there is nothing to argue about later.

Experts

That is the design. Engagements are scoped in weekly hours and run side of desk. Check your employment agreement and any conflict-of-interest or outside-work policy before you accept, and be honest about the hours you actually have.

Requests are ranked by fit to your stated expertise, and the founder's proof of legitimacy loads before their pitch. Set an equity floor and let the fit do the sorting. Saying no is what keeps the yes worth something.

Founders

A company profile with your problem statement, why now, business model and current metrics, plus the milestone the work is meant to unlock. Proof of demand is the only pitch that survives diligence.

Still deciding?

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