--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Founders are usually very stingy with…" description: "\"Founders are usually very stingy with equity to employees and very generous with equity to investors. I think this is totally backwards.\" — Sam Altman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/58f/sam-altman-1494_backwards_founders-are-usually-very-stingy-with-eq_798175.png" --- # Founders are usually very stingy with equity to employees… ![“Founders are usually very stingy with equity to employees and very generous with equity to investors. I think this is totally backwards.” quote by Sam Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/58f/sam-altman-1494_backwards_founders-are-usually-very-stingy-with-eq_798175.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/58f/sam-altman-1494_backwards_founders-are-usually-very-stingy-with-eq_798175.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/58f/sam-altman-1494_backwards_founders-are-usually-very-stingy-with-eq_798175.png) > “Founders are usually very stingy with equity to employees and very generous with equity to investors. I think this is totally backwards.” [Sam Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-altman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Founders often give employees little equity while investors receive much, which seems reversed. **In simple terms:** Founders favor investors over employees. Key Takeaway Reconsider equity distribution fairness. Themes business equity fairness Mood analytical critical Type business financial When to use this quote - startup funding - salary negotiations - founder decisions Key Concepts capital allocation employee incentives Questions to Reflect On - What models ensure fair employee ownership? - How can investors support founder‑employee equity? A Different Perspective Equity balance is complex, may vary by stage. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Backwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/backwards/) [Employee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/employee/) [Entrepreneurship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entrepreneurship/) [Equity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/equity/) [Equity Investors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/equity-investors-2641268/) [Founders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/founders/) [Founders Usually](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/founders-usually-6117505/) [Generous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generous/) [Generous Equity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generous-equity-6117506/) [Investing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/investing/) [Investors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/investors/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Stingy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stingy/) [Stingy Equity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stingy-equity-6117504/) [Team](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/team/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [Private equity investors are an integral part of the economy and should be celebrated for making our country wealthier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-lonsdale/private-equity-investors-are-an-integral-part-of-the-economy-and/) [Joe Lonsdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-lonsdale/) > [To a large extent, equity investors put their hard-earned capital into the hands of management and count on it being employed skilfully and honestly.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-tilson/to-a-large-extent-equity-investors-put-their-hard-earned-capital-into/) [Whitney Tilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-tilson/) > [All the equity investors, in total, will surely bear a performance disadvantage per annum equal to the total croupiers' costs they have jointly elected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/all-the-equity-investors-in-total-will-surely-bear-a-performance/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [I think good private equity investors create a lot more economic value than they destroy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ackman/i-think-good-private-equity-investors-create-a-lot-more-economic/) [Bill Ackman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ackman/) > [I believe in fighting with investors to reduce the amount of equity they get and then being as generous as you possibly can with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-altman/i-believe-in-fighting-with-investors-to-reduce-the-amount-of-equity/) [Sam Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-altman/) > [You should be giving out a lot of equity to your employees.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-altman/you-should-be-giving-out-a-lot-of-equity-to-your-employees/) [Sam Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-altman/) > [We pretty much won't fund a company now where the founders don't have vested equity because it's just that hard to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-altman/we-pretty-much-won-t-fund-a-company-now-where-the-founders-don-t-have/) [Sam Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-altman/) > [Keep salaries low and equity high. Keep the organization as flat as you can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-altman/keep-salaries-low-and-equity-high-keep-the-organization-as-flat-as/) [Sam Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-altman/) > [You can never have too much sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/you-can-never-have-too-much-sky/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) > [We . . . must try to live without causing unnecessary harm, not just to fellow humans but to all beings. We must try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-snyder/we-must-try-to-live-without-causing-unnecessary-harm-not-just-to/) [Gary Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-snyder/) > [You can never have too much butter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-powell/you-can-never-have-too-much-butter/) [Julie Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-powell/) > [“And if it’s one thing I know about the Lord: He don’t bless us so we can turn around and be stingy to folk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-stimpson/and-if-it-s-one-thing-i-know-about-the-lord-he-don-t-bless-us-so-we/) [Michelle Stimpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-stimpson/) > [“The true stingy is that who refrains from greeting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imam-hussein-ibn-ali-al-shaheed/the-true-stingy-is-that-who-refrains-from-greeting/) [Imam Hussein Ibn Ali al-Shaheed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imam-hussein-ibn-ali-al-shaheed/) > [I just think it's silly to be stingy with compliments. If you see someone and they strike you as beautiful in any way, why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-scott/i-just-think-it-s-silly-to-be-stingy-with-compliments-if-you-see/) [Jill Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-scott/) > [America's critics can be heard everywhere. It is too much in love with money - worshipping the god of the marketplace, the golden calf.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-saatchi/america-s-critics-can-be-heard-everywhere-it-is-too-much-in-love-with/) [Maurice Saatchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-saatchi/) ## More by Sam Altman > [The best people know that they should join a rocketship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-altman/the-best-people-know-that-they-should-join-a-rocketship/) [Sam Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-altman/) > [You really want to know your cofounders for a while, ideally years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-altman/you-really-want-to-know-your-cofounders-for-a-while-ideally-years/) [Sam Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-altman/) > [Employees will only add more value over time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-altman/employees-will-only-add-more-value-over-time/) [Sam Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-altman/) > [One thing I tell startups all the time is that the best way to grow is to make their product better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-altman/one-thing-i-tell-startups-all-the-time-is-that-the-best-way-to-grow/) [Sam Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-altman/) > [A winning team feels good and keeps winning. 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I spend very little time, looking backwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-vaynerchuk/i-m-just-always-looking-forwards-i-spend-very-little-time-looking/) [Gary Vaynerchuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-vaynerchuk/) > [I wear T-shirts and backwards hats and buy my shoes at Payless!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaitlyn-bristowe/i-wear-t-shirts-and-backwards-hats-and-buy-my-shoes-at-payless/) [Kaitlyn Bristowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaitlyn-bristowe/) > [A historian is not always a prophet facing backwards, but a journalist is always someone who afterwards knew everything beforehand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/a-historian-is-not-always-a-prophet-facing-backwards-but-a-journalist/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [Why don't you just imagine it never happened..??](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/effy-stonem/why-don-t-you-just-imagine-it-never-happened/) [Effy Stonem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/effy-stonem/) > [“It would seem no matter how progressive we get there are always those few who are backwards in their ways.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solange-nicole/it-would-seem-no-matter-how-progressive-we-get-there-are-always-those/) [Solange nicole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solange-nicole/) > [In the spiritual life, he who does not advance goes backwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pio-of-pietrelcina/in-the-spiritual-life-he-who-does-not-advance-goes-backwards/) [Pio of Pietrelcina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pio-of-pietrelcina/) > [Now, success is not the result of making money; making money is the result of success - and success is in direct proportion to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/now-success-is-not-the-result-of-making-money-making-money-is-the/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [Can anyone be so foolish as to believe that there are men whose feet are higher than their heads, or places where things may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lactantius/can-anyone-be-so-foolish-as-to-believe-that-there-are-men-whose-feet/) [Lactantius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lactantius/) > [I took a little break - I was coming back to work and the last thing I was going to do was take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nia-long/i-took-a-little-break-i-was-coming-back-to-work-and-the-last-thing-i/) [Nia Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nia-long/) > [Only a fool walks into the future backwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-goodkind/only-a-fool-walks-into-the-future-backwards/) [Terry Goodkind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-goodkind/) > [We have different expectations for different groups of people. We tend to modulate the degree with which we're forgiving or punitive depending on how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hayes/we-have-different-expectations-for-different-groups-of-people-we-tend/) [Chris Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hayes/) > [You know what, if you play 'She Looks So Perfect' backwards... you just listen to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-hemmings/you-know-what-if-you-play-she-looks-so-perfect-backwards-you-just/) [Luke Hemmings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-hemmings/) > [Nursing is a progressive art such that to stand still is to go backwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-nightingale/nursing-is-a-progressive-art-such-that-to-stand-still-is-to-go/) [Florence Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-nightingale/) > [“Just like backing out of the driveway… If the driveway was ten miles long, full of rocks and pits, with lethal radiation hovering above,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-thorman/just-like-backing-out-of-the-driveway-if-the-driveway-was-ten-miles/) [Daniel Thorman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-thorman/) > [We're not competitor obsessed, we're customer obsessed. We start with the customer and we work backwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-bezos/we-re-not-competitor-obsessed-we-re-customer-obsessed-we-start-with/) [Jeff Bezos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-bezos/) [Browse all 837 Backwards quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/backwards/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Founders are usually very stingy with equity to employees and very generous with equity to investors. 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