When an engineer is offered a job a tech company, their compensation is often partly in cash and partly in equity–shares of the company. How should an engineer evaluate that offer? How should they negotiate? In the world of equity compensation, costly and avoidable mistakes are routine, and this hurts both companies and employees. Josh Levy was on Software Engineering Daily previously to talk about the Amazon Web Services open guide, which was one of the most popular episodes we have ever had. In this episode, Josh and I are joined by Joe Wallin, a lawyer who has been involved in startups for many years. Josh and Joe are the authors of the The Open Guide to Equity Compensation, which is a resource designed to clear up the confusion around stock, options, and fundraising. It’s a tremendously useful and concise overview of what an engineer or founder needs to know when it comes to equity financing.