How to build a rewards system that grows with your business—and your people
If you’re a founder, operator, or advisor, you know this already:
- Equity is expensive.
- Revenue is sacred.
- And loyalty, in today’s market, isn’t bought—it’s shared.
Yet most legal and financial tools haven’t evolved to reflect that. We’re still drafting documents for a world of fixed salaries, standard vesting, and blind dilution.
It’s time for a new playbook.
This is your guide to building a sharing stack that rewards contribution, aligns incentives, and creates momentum without giving away the farm.
What is a sharing stack?
A sharing stack is a combination of financial and contractual models that:
- Reward contribution
- Scale with impact
- Reduce upfront cost
- Avoid unnecessary dilution
- Turn risk into relationship
You might combine:
- Profit sharing for team-wide performance
- Equity for long-term value creation
- Revenue sharing for strategic partners
- Phantom equity for trusted advisors
- Commissions for short-term results
- Milestone bonuses for frictionless execution
Start with pain: Why traditional models fall short
- Equity dilution locks you into cap table consequences before traction.
- Salary-heavy models burn cash too early.
- Generic stock options often go unvalued and misunderstood.
- Profit-only thinking ignores the power of top-line sharing.
The result? Misaligned expectations, low morale, and legal friction.
Which model is right for you?
Use this quick reference table to decide which incentive might best suit your needs:
| Your situation | Try this | Why it works |
|---|---|---|
| You want to retain staff over time | Profit sharing | Rewards collective success without giving away equity |
| You’re cash-strapped but need senior talent | Equity / RSUs | Aligns with long-term upside while preserving cash |
| You’re partnering with a distributor or freelancer | Revenue sharing | Simple to track, motivates immediate performance |
| You want to reward a trusted advisor | Phantom equity / SARs | Gives value without legal ownership or voting rights |
| You need to drive short-term sales | Commission-based pay | Classic pay-for-performance model |
| You’re funding education or early-stage support | Income share agreements | Aligns future upside with present investment |
| You want to pay for results, not effort | Success fees / Milestone bonuses | Focuses purely on outcomes, not process |
Story time: how one founder saved their cap table
Keisha* was launching a telehealth startup. She needed developers, advisors, and early traction.
Instead of offering 5% equity slices to everyone, she:
- Shared 5% of revenue with her distribution partner
- Gave phantom equity to her tech lead with a 3-year vest
- Created a success bonus for an advisor who landed their first hospital deal
Three years later, she raised a Series A—with only 12% dilution and a fully aligned team.
From idea to agreement: what to do next
- Map your relationships: Who are your key contributors?
- Match the model: What kind of risk or reward fits?
- Make it legal: Use lean agreements with clear logic
- Measure impact: Track, communicate, adjust
One final truth
Legal isn’t just about compliance. It’s about trust design.
The right sharing stack turns contracts into culture. Terms into trust. And teams into movements.
So don’t just ask what you’re giving. Ask: what are you sharing?
