I highly recommend a four year vesting period for any startup ownership, as described by Fred Wilson here:<p><a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;avc.com&#x2F;2010&#x2F;11&#x2F;employee-equity-vesting&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;avc.com&#x2F;2010&#x2F;11&#x2F;employee-equity-vesting&#x2F;</a><p>Everytime I&#x27;ve seen a company do something else, somebody leaves early on with too much stock. Then on the next round it has to be negotiated down anyway. The amount always ends up similar to what a 4 year vest would have been!<p>So if you&#x27;ve done one full year of work, and so has she... And you each &quot;own&quot; half, that means you would keep a quarter of your half that has vested if you walk away. i.e. 12.5%<p>Hmm, that still sounds like quite a lot to be honest, but it really depends on how much you&#x27;ve actually both built. Maybe you haven&#x27;t done a year of full time startup work.<p>My view is, BTW, not from Silicon Valley, but UK companies.