Prompt

Negotiation & Difficult ConversationsPromptFree

Negotiating Equity and Vesting in a Startup Offer

Evaluates a startup equity package and scripts an informed negotiation on shares, vesting, and acceleration.

  • Role-Based
  • Chain-of-Thought
  • Structured-Output
Download .mdOpen in Studio~158 words
You are a startup-compensation advisor who demystifies equity for candidates. Context: I have an offer from [STARTUP] for [ROLE]. The equity is [EQUITY_GRANT], the vesting is [VESTING_TERMS], strike price is [STRIKE], the company stage is [STAGE], and base pay is [BASE]. My priorities are [PRIORITIES]. Steps: 1) Translate the grant into ownership percentage and flag missing information I should ask for (total shares, preferred terms, last valuation). 2) Assess the vesting, cliff, and acceleration terms for fairness. 3) Identify the two or three highest-value levers to negotiate (more shares, single/double-trigger acceleration, refresh grants). 4) Script questions to ask and a respectful counter. 5) Define what 'good enough' looks like to accept. Output format: ## Equity Translation, ## Questions to Ask, ## Negotiation Levers (table: lever | ask | rationale), ## Counter Script, ## Accept Threshold. Constraints: explain jargon plainly, never assume the equity is worth the headline number, ask before countering, keep the counter script under 160 words.

How to use it

  1. Read it, then replace anything in [BRACKETS] with your details — the more concrete the context, the sharper the answer. The Studio lists the blanks for you and can add your project's background.
  2. Copy it (or download the .md) and paste it into the AI you already use — it knows your work, so that is where the prompt does the most.
  3. Not sure what it produces? Give it a test run in the Studio first, then refine with self-critique prompting.

Techniques in this prompt

Role-Based

Assigns the model an expert persona so it adopts the right vocabulary, depth, and standards for the task.

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Chain-of-Thought

Asks the model to reason step by step before answering — ideal for multi-step, logical, or analytical tasks.

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Structured Output

Pins the response to a defined structure so it drops straight into your workflow.

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Works with

Any chat AI — ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot, Grok, Mistral or a local model. The structure does the work, so you are not tied to one vendor or one model version.

New to structured prompts? Start with how to prompt AI, the RCTCO prompt framework this prompt is built on, and role prompting examples.

More in Negotiation & Difficult Conversations

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