Equity vs fixed price — which costs less?
Your current or pre-money valuation estimate
Our MVP package is $3,460
5× = $1M company exits at $5M
Recommendation
💰 Hire the agency
The 20% equity you'd give up is worth $1,000,000 at a 5× exit — vs $3,460 for the agency. That's 289× more expensive in equity terms.
Equity value today
$200,000
Equity value at 5× exit
$1,000,000
Agency cost
$3,460
Equity cost vs agency
$996,540 more in equity
Why equity is expensive
Equity compounds with your company's growth. $20K today at a 10× exit costs $200K. An agency charges a fixed, known price — equity is an open-ended liability.
When a co-founder makes sense
If you need long-term CTO-level ownership, technical decision-making, and someone to fundraise with — a co-founder adds more than code. If you just need v1 built, that's an agency.
Speed matters too
Finding a technical co-founder takes 3–12 months on average. An agency can start in 48 hours. Every month without a product is lost user feedback and fundraising leverage.
You can do both
Many founders hire an agency to build v1, validate the idea, then bring on a technical co-founder at a lower equity stake once the company has traction.
We ship production-ready MVPs in 15–21 days at a fixed price. No surprises, no hourly billing.