"Two were working full-time on the venture, [...]. The third, the brains behind the technology, was part-time. [...] The technology was critical, but the two full-time founders were doing the heavy lifting to build the startup. Five percent would have been a more appropriate allocation for the tech guy."<p>If the technology was critical, and this third guy was the brain behind it, he deserved more. I'm sure he could find himself other co-founders to do the "heavy lifting". This post repeats "commitment" again and again, how about "added value"? If the tech was the corner stone of this company, the tech guy could have stayed home and still deserved more.