For a founder, it’s common to start by splitting things 50/50 (or 33/33/33, depending on the number of founders). This makes sense if two people think up an idea together, are both committing to it full time, neither one is taking a salary, and they both can contribute in a significant way to the business.

There are a lot of reasons why you might not split it 50/50.

• If one founder is much more seasoned than the other founder. ie. If I’ve sold 5 companies and you’re right out of college, you should expect less than 5% of the company even if we’re both founders.
• If one person is taking a small salary and the other isn’t
• If one person is putting in cash and the other isn’t (it’s usually better to handle that separately as an investment or convertible note)
• If one person has been working on the company for a year or two already and the other is just starting
• Many more – every situation is different

In the end, the actual number you come up with is fairly arbitrary. It’s whatever you can agree to. Some people just go 50/50 and others come up with a justification for some other number.

Kind of like Josh Kopelman’s “penny gap“, there is a huge difference between 50/50 and one partner with 50.1% and the other with 49.9%. One clearly says, “We’re partners” and the other clearly says “I’m in charge.” Actual control is probably not directly tied to the way the founders split the stock, so its more emotional than practical. But that doesn’t make it any less significant. The decision you make here will set the tone for your entire relationship.

This post originally appeared on January 25, 2010 on Joshua Baer’s website Austinpreneur.com