Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

So here is my situation.  I have been involved in a start up staffing/sourcing company in the lucrative Intelligence Community in the DC area for the past four months working full time as a recruiter and designing/maintaining a website.  I have been doing all of this pro bono, without even so much as a commission structure or base salary in place.  We have 120k of start up funds, there are two of us actively working, the third supplied the VC.  The two of us working are not drawing a salary, we are using the VC for operating costs only.

I am starting to bring in significant revenue (200k, 48k of that a yearly sum of monthly re-occuring revenue, about 4 k per month.)

We have just started to begin to document and negotiate 1.  Base Salry (around 40 k to start - marklet value of a recruiter) 2. Commision(15% - again market value)  and 3. a % equity stake in the company.

My question is what is a fair equity stake in the company I should be asking for??  The other two owners, 45% and 45% are proposing a 4 % stake and a tiered schedule based on revenue I bring in over time.  I am looking for my stake to be larger given the work I have put in to date, 4 months pro bono, and to be not based on time.  Is this fair and just for me to ask??  Is this a fair deal for me at 4%???

Please help I am new to this start up and want to get off on the right foot and be sure I am doing the right thing.....

:)

Ok so all of that makes sense, I was kind of figuring I would need to show something along those lines, like valuing what a salary for web dev and recruiting for the last 3 1/2 months.  And this certainly should have been settled at start up and is why I am adamant about pushing for it now with the partners.  I will give it a go and my feeling is they will be receptive.  Thanks for your advice......

Jeff