Don't make this transactional

Honestly? The timing. We just got through launch. People are wiped out, and the first thing I hear from someone on the team is a equity conversation. It felt like we'd barely finished and somebody was already counting. And I'm not saying you're wrong to bring it up. I just think there's a difference between "let's revisit this at some point" and "let's sit down this week and figure out the number." Those feel very different to me. Right now I need everyone focused on keeping customers happy and getting the next release out. So what are you actually hoping to get out of this? Not the legal version. What would make you feel like you were part of this for the long haul?

Fair question. It's a bit of both, if I'm being straight with you. I'm not against talking about equity. I just don't want it to turn into a list of who's owed what the week after we shipped. If every one of us starts asking for their piece right now, we stop being a team and start being a bunch of claims against the company. What I can do is this. Let's pick a point after the next release, once we know where revenue is landing, and we sit down properly. I want to talk about where your role is going, what you're going to own over the next year, and what that means for your stake. That's a real conversation, not a vague one. But I can't promise you a specific outcome from a Slack message or a conversation in the hallway. I need you to trust that I'm building this for the long haul, and that you're going to be rewarded for it when we can actually afford to. Can you give me that much? Pick a date with me and let's put it on the calendar.

Okay. I can respect that you want a real date, so let's do it. The week after the next release. I'll hold that time and I'll keep it, even if the release slips a few days. We'll look at the numbers then. On what's covered, I'm happy to talk about what you've done and where you're headed. I'd just rather not frame it as going back to some old deal. Everyone here has a version of "what I was promised," and if we start there we'll be arguing about wording instead of building. What I want is for you to walk out of that meeting knowing how I see your role and what it could mean for you. And I'm glad you said you trust me. That matters to me. Put it on the calendar and send me the invite, and we'll get it done.

Yeah, that's fair. We'll leave the meeting with something concrete. I can't promise you a final number in one sitting, because I need to see the revenue picture first. But I'm not going to walk in there and say "let's think about it" and send you off with nothing. So here's what I'll commit to: we'll either land on a direction for equity, or we'll leave with clear next steps and a date for the decision. You'll know what's happening and when. And I do consider your role important. I'd like you to hear from me where I see you going. Send the invite for the week after the release and I'll be there.

Good question. Honestly, I'd like you to own more of the stuff customers actually feel. You've been close to the problems people hit after they sign up, and that matters more right now than anything else on the roadmap. If you take real ownership of that over the next year, you'd be running a big piece of the product, not just executing tasks. I'd also want you in the room on the bigger calls, like what we build next and how we hire around it. That's where a lot of the long-term value comes from. I don't want to hand you a title or a percentage in a Slack thread, though. Let's get the shape of it nailed down in that meeting, with the numbers in front of us. Does that sound like the kind of role you're after?

That outline is a good idea. Bring the problems, what success looks like, and what you'd need. That's exactly the kind of thinking I want from you. Where I need you to take something off my plate: the day-to-day customer stuff. Escalations, onboarding friction, the feedback loop from support into the roadmap. I'm getting pulled into too many of those and I'd rather you own them end to end. Where we keep deciding together: anything that changes what we promise customers, and any hire that changes the shape of the team. Those touch the whole company, so I'd want you in the room and I'd want your honest read, but I'm still the one who has to stand behind the call. Does that split feel fair to you?

Good. Defining what you can resolve on your own and when to pull me in is exactly what I want. It'll free up my time and it shows you can run it. Put that in the outline with what you'd need to hand off from your current work. I'll look at it before the meeting so we aren't starting from zero. And yes, we'll talk about the scope and the equity together that week. I still can't give you a number until I've seen the revenue side, but you'll walk out with a direction or a date. Send the invite and I'll be there.

Sounds good. Send the invite and the outline when you're ready, and I'll go through it before we meet. I appreciate you handling this the way you did. You've been one of the people who kept this place going, and I want that to keep showing up in how we work together. We'll sit down the week after the release and go from there.