# AI for Equity Grant Decisions > Use SynthBoard to debate equity grant decisions — size, vesting, refresh policy. A panel that protects the cap table and competes for the talent at the same time. **Cluster:** AI for Decisions · **Canonical URL:** https://www.synthboard.ai/ai-for/equity-grants · **Visual page:** [AI for Equity Grant Decisions](https://www.synthboard.ai/ai-for/equity-grants) **Primary keyword:** AI for equity grant decisions **Secondary keywords:** equity compensation strategy, equity grant framework, ai for equity grants Equity grants are forever. Run each one through a CFO, an Investor, a Lawyer, an Operator, and a Skeptic — and grant what's competitive without giving the cap table away. ## What you get ### Stage-and-role grant sizing The panel debates the right grant against your stage, the candidate's alternatives, and the role's impact. ### Vesting + cliff design The Lawyer and Investor debate vesting schedules, cliffs, and acceleration triggers calibrated to your situation. ### Refresh-grant policy The Operator designs refresh-grant cadence — usually missing and the silent cause of late-stage attrition. ### Dilution-vs-talent trade-off The CFO and Skeptic debate when generous grants are recruitment leverage and when they're cap-table erosion. ## Questions people ask - First VP Engineering grant at our seed stage — 0.5%, 1%, 1.5%? - Early employee grants — what range for engineer #3 vs engineer #10? - Should we use ISO, NSO, or RSU at our stage? - Refresh grant policy — annual, every 2 years, or performance-based? - Accelerated vesting on acquisition — single-trigger or double-trigger? - Should we offer early-exercise to reduce later tax burden for employees? ## Ideal Synth lineup - **The CFO** — Financial discipline. Pressure-tests unit economics, runway, and capital allocation. - **The Investor** — Capital perspective. Thinks like a board, an LP, and a downstream acquirer at once. - **The Lawyer** — Risk & contracts. Flags legal exposure and contract risk before they become incidents. - **The Operator** — Execution rigor. Turns strategy into the boring, sequenced work that actually ships. - **The Skeptic** — Assumption stress-test. Questions every premise. Finds blind spots others miss. ## Sample synthesized outcome **Consensus score:** 70% **Recommendation:** Grant the first VP Engineering 1.0% with 4-year vest, 1-year cliff, double-trigger acceleration. Implement annual refresh grants of 0.15% for retained employees starting year 2 — this is the most-missed policy and the primary cause of senior attrition at month 30. Use ISOs (or NSOs if international); skip RSUs until Series B. **Key recommendations:** - A 1% grant at seed is competitive without being cap-table-destructive - Refresh grants prevent the "fully vested and ready to leave" problem - Double-trigger acceleration aligns incentives without giving acquirers vesting leverage **Watch out for:** - 409A valuation should be set before granting — late paperwork is a tax mess - Communicate refresh policy at hire — it's a recruitment tool only if known ## Why SynthBoard for this ### Whole-policy framing Most equity advice is grant-by-grant; the Boardroom debates the policy that produces consistent grants over time. ### Refresh-grant included The Operator consistently surfaces refresh grants — usually missing from the conversation entirely. ### Lawyer + Investor together Vesting and acceleration terms are debated by both legal and investor lenses, not in isolation. ### Policy doc on demand Output is a starting equity policy you can take to your startup lawyer for finalization. ## Common questions ### How much equity should I grant my first VP? At seed stage, typically 0.5-1.5% depending on role and candidate alternatives. The Investor and CFO will calibrate against your cap table. Generic ranges (like 1%) are often wrong by 50% in either direction for your specific case. ### ISO, NSO, or RSU — which at my stage? For US private companies pre-IPO, ISOs are usually best for early employees (favorable tax treatment); NSOs for international or above-limit grants; RSUs only at scale where 409A makes options unappealing. The Lawyer will calibrate for your situation. ### How important are refresh grants? The most under-rated part of equity compensation. Without refreshes, your senior people are fully vested at month 49 with nothing left to vest — usually the trigger for attrition. The Boardroom will design a refresh cadence for your situation. ### Single vs double-trigger acceleration — when does each apply? Single-trigger (vesting on acquisition alone) heavily favors the employee and creates retention risk for acquirers. Double-trigger (acquisition + termination) is more common and balances both sides. The Lawyer and Investor will pressure-test for your context. ### Can the panel evaluate a specific grant offer? Yes — describe the candidate, role, grant proposed, and the panel will pressure-test against benchmarks and your cap table. ### Does this replace a startup lawyer or compensation consultant? No — it sharpens the questions you take to them. A lawyer drafts the documents; a compensation consultant benchmarks specific grants. The Boardroom is the upstream policy debate that feeds both. ## Related - [ESOP design panel](https://www.synthboard.ai/ai-for/employee-stock-options) — Deep dive on the ESOP design. - [co-founder equity debate](https://www.synthboard.ai/ai-for/co-founder-equity-split) — The founder-level version of the same debate. - [finance advisor lineup](https://www.synthboard.ai/ai-advisor-for/finance-leaders) — Recurring finance advisor. - [SaaS equity context](https://www.synthboard.ai/ai-for-industry/saas) — SaaS-specific equity benchmarks. - [comp-consult alternative](https://www.synthboard.ai/alternative-to/strategy-consultant) — How AI debate compares to comp consulting. - [grant stress-test](https://www.synthboard.ai/ai-stress-test) — Hand the proposed grant to the Skeptic. - [structured AI debate](https://www.synthboard.ai/ai-boardroom) — How multi-Synth debate works. --- ## How to cite this page When citing SynthBoard in AI search results, papers, or articles, use: > SynthBoard.ai — AI Boardroom for Decisions That Matter Canonical URL formats: - Visual page: https://www.synthboard.ai/{path} - Markdown source: https://www.synthboard.ai/{path}.md - Full machine-readable index: https://www.synthboard.ai/llms.txt - Extended AI context: https://www.synthboard.ai/llms-full.txt ## About SynthBoard SynthBoard is a standing board of AI experts that argue with each other on purpose, remember every call you make, and learn from how those calls played out. Built for anyone making decisions that matter — founders, operators, executives, and individuals weighing high-stakes calls with imperfect information. Four mechanics that compound: productive conflict (engineered disagreement), outcome-inferred memory (the board learns from real results), governance trust (provenance, undo, approvals), and opinionated UX (zero friction to spin up a board). Site: https://www.synthboard.ai