Creating a culture of ownership – equity & transparency

Why equity matters

Generous equity isn’t charity, it’s strategy. When employees own part of the company, they think and act like owners. That mindset compounds.

At Unusual, we encourage founders to design an equity philosophy early. Be intentional, transparent, and consistent.

INSIGHT:  “You can’t buy loyalty. But you can create alignment.”

The three steps

• Set expectations
  • Founders should retain 50–70% pre-Series A.
  • Be generous but disciplined. The pie will grow if everyone builds value.
    
• Create an equity framework
  
  • Develop defensible equity bands for early roles.
  • Keep documentation transparent — in Carta, Notion, or your internal wiki.
  • Refresh grants every 2–3 years to retain top performers.
    
• Be transparent
  • Explain vesting and refresh logic.
  • Talk about company valuation and exit math.
  • Publish your equity philosophy internally.