The fact that they're offering you 2% for equal work/risk (after all, you lose just as much as they do if it fails) says more about them than whatever idea they're pursuing. I'd walk away.

I'd RUN away.

They don't respect you at all and they're a completely lost cause. They're likely to screw you over or replace you at the first opportunity and blame you for any failures.

Two percent is insulting for the sole tech guy on a team of three. Even if they had an absolutely BRILLIANT idea and SUBSTANTIAL experience in the given industry.

Rather than asking if 2% is reasonable, look at it the other way: If you had started a company and were looking at hiring these two people, would you give them 98% of the equity?

There are two extremes in the equity situation. The first is where the early employee is essentially a founder. There is no security, no salary, no office. In this case, I'd think 2% is far too low.

The second is where the employee isn't a founder at all. This usually happens once the company is stable enough to be around at least for a year or two. The job comes with a normal, market salary. In this case 2% probably wouldn't be too objectionable - the equity is a nice perk, but really you're hired to do a job.

It sounds like these guys are trying to pay a category 1 salary and a category 2 equity package. If that's the case, I'd walk. Not only are these guys being unfair, they sound pretty clueless.

Um... no pay for working with 2 guys with an idea... full 33%. You have talent, they have nothing but an idea (everyone has ideas, they're mostly worthless), you should be treated as an equal.

I think the time would be better spent working on implementing the idea and winning. Once you win, you can stick your tongue out at YC as much as you want. :-)

2% and no compensation? If it's such a great idea, walk away and go build it yourself.

Yes.

Sorry, you're in the wrong decade; the OODB people are now working on XMLDBs (or sometimes RDF triple stores).

I'd say 50%, given that you're the only one building product.

"I'm not sure what you're basing your statements on. But it sounds like you've gotten a very bad deal in the past. Or, you've had no deals in the past...."

Well, okay, if we're going to make ASSumptions:

Maybe you're just sensitive to this situation because you are ALSO trying to get some poor schmuck to take 2% equity and no salary to implement YOUR big business idea, which is all you have to contribute to the venture? Or maybe you're a hacker that took 2% equity for implementing someone else's idea and you're trying to rationalize your empyty bank account and minimize the cognitive dissonance for yourself?

I'm going to ASSume there is something in YOUR past that makes you unable to hear the fire alarm bells and see what a bad freaking deal the OP is being offered.

You can't be serious. That is less than what I was offered at my first job, as employee #6, WITH salary. Tell them to go stick it and work for somebody with ethics.