Here are 5 tips on how to negotiate for more equity at your startup

Bhavik Vashi, 32, is living the dream of many Silicon Valley tech workers. He joined a promising startup, did his time and eventually the company was acquired, minting him as a millionaire.

Shortly after graduating from the University of California, Berkeley in 2013, he joined software startup Anaplan. Over the course of about 10 years at the company, Vashi worked his way up from an entry-level consultant role to vice president.

“When I joined, we were less than 100 people… and then I just [saw] it grow and expand to over 2,000 people at one point,” Vashi told CNBC Make It. “Basically, every time I was promoted at Anaplan, I had an equity grant of some capacity.”

It all paid off in June 2022, when Anaplan was acquired by private equity company Thoma Bravo at a roughly $10.4 billion valuation. Under the deal, all Anaplan shareholders received $63.75 per share.

Vashi made over $2 million after selling all of his equity in the software startup, according to documents seen by CNBC Make It. Today, he has moved onto a new role as the managing director for Asia Pacific and the Middle East at software company Carta.

“It was enough to make me dedicate the next chapter of my life to spreading the good word about equity to more people, and [try] to get companies, even [those] outside of venture capital, like furniture stores and mom and pop shops to think about democratizing ownership as a concept,” he said.

While he acknowledged the role luck played in his payout, he also credited a couple strategic moves he made for his success. Here are five tips on how to negotiate for more equity at work, according to Vashi:

The first step is to identify what you are looking for your company to provide.

“I think one mistake that some employees make because they see some of the wild successes in Silicon Valley… is that they put too much emphasis on equity,” he said. “They think… I have this equity and it’s going to make me a millionaire, and that’s statistically just completely untrue. 98% of startups fail.”

Employees should first evaluate their current budget and lifestyle. “You have to be comfortable with your cash compensation number to cover your operating expenses and living expenses,” he said.

Once your basics are covered, that’s when you can shift your focus to asking for equity, said Vashi.

“Most retail investors don’t have access to… [this] asset class and as part of your portfolio, you should always look to maximize that aspect of it, because you can get cash in other places, but you won’t be able to get this kind of a lottery ticket, for lack of a better term, in most places,” said Vashi.