New ask Hacker News story: Is equity the only way to incentivise contributors in the absence of salary?

Is equity the only way to incentivise contributors in the absence of salary?
3 by ybalkind | 4 comments on Hacker News.
Firstly, I'm not from the startup world, have never been in one, and dont know all the standard models, so forgive me if this sounds naive. But I'm working on a startup idea. I'm looking to bring on some contributors to help with content and business development and I can't pay unless I get funded which I'm hoping to avoid for now. Offering equity feels like overkill for the type of work. I'm basically looking to get some freelance contributors to work on a risk basis, but with an overly generous upside if the business works. I'm envisioning something like a revenue share type agreement. Needless to say the contributors would have to strongly believe in the idea in order to take this risk. But if we could put that aside for a moment, I'm asking if there are existing models in the ballpark of what I am describing so that I don't have to try and reinvent the wheel.

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