Paying people with equity is synonymous with startups.

Founders love being able to buy things with Monopoly money and newly granted shareholders dream of a huge windfall someday. And that sounds awesome.

But the problem is that equity isn't like cash — it's far more valuable, yet we tend to spend it like it's free. We later come to learn that equity is not only expensive now, it's way more expensive later as the company grows, and we now hold less of it.

What's so bad about paying with equity?

It's not a bad idea if we value it properly. But that's the problem. Equity, especially in the early days, is often spent with little consideration for it's long term value.

"I'll design your mobile app for 10% of the company" might sound like a dea...