# Should Cash Pressure Buy Equity?

Source: https://ivankamenken.com/cash-pressure-equity-decision · Last updated 1 November 2026

You are about to give a new co-founder equity because cash is short, and nobody has written down who decides what in the first six months. Ivanka Menken uses the Fortnight Loop inside 1:1 Mentoring, a 6-month programme at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST, to separate the cash gap from the ownership decision. You leave with a written map of first-six-month decision rights and money expectations, before any equity is promised.

## Equity as the answer to a cash question

- You are considering equity because cash is tight.
- Roles and decision rights are still unwritten.
- You avoid the money conversation with your partner.

**THE MOMENT:** The right person wants to join, and you cannot pay them what they are worth. Equity feels like the generous answer, and it costs nothing today. So the number on the table keeps growing. Meanwhile nobody has said who decides on hiring, spending or clients, or what either of you expects to be paid once the cash comes in. It feels easier to agree the slice than to have that conversation.

### THE PARTNERSHIP, AS IT STANDS

- Salary for the new co-founder: not possible yet
- Equity offered: growing with each conversation
- Who decides on money: not written
- Who decides on hiring and clients: not written
- Money expectations after six months: never discussed

## A large slice of equity

In this case, the founder of a small business was short of cash and wanted a new co-founder on board. Salary was not possible, so the obvious fix was a large slice of equity to make up for it. It did not settle anything. The first awkward decision about spending came within weeks, and neither of them knew whose call it was, because the role and the decision rights were still unwritten.

## Equity was doing the job of a salary

Ivanka noticed the founder was treating equity as a cash fix while the co-founder role was still undefined. Every conversation about the partnership came back to the percentage, and none of them covered who owns which decisions or what each person expects to be paid when the cash arrives. The short-term pressure was setting the terms of a long-term relationship.

## A temporary cash problem with a permanent fix

The diagnosis was that equity was being used to solve a temporary cash problem, while the permanent relationship had no written decision rights. Once the cash gap closes, the equity stays, and so does every unspoken expectation behind it.
The reframe: equity is not a cash substitute. It is a long-term decision made under short-term pressure. Write the first six months first: who decides what, what money each person expects and when. Then the ownership conversation has something solid to stand on.

> Equity is a long-term decision. Do not make it under short-term pressure.

**The cost of staying stuck:** Staying stuck can lock a short cash problem into long-term equity, with decision rights nobody agreed and money expectations nobody said out loud.

## The tool: Fortnight Loop

The Fortnight Loop is how 1:1 Mentoring moves one decision from intention to a written commitment every two weeks. For a co-founder, the loop splits the question in two: the cash gap on one side, the ownership decision on the other, and the first six months written down before either is settled.

It is one page in two columns. On the left, the cash gap: how big, how long and how it will be covered. On the right, the partnership: what the co-founder owns, which decisions need both of you, what money each person expects and when. Underneath, one written commitment for the next fortnight.

It replaces a percentage agreed in a hurry, a role described in conversation only and a money talk both of you keep putting off.

### What goes on the page

1. The cash gap: its size, how long it lasts, how it is covered
2. What the co-founder owns, in plain words
3. Decisions that need both of you: hiring, spending, clients
4. Money expectations: what each person expects, and from when
5. What is not decided yet: the equity, until the map is done
6. The commitment: one written step for the next fortnight

It sits inside 1:1 Mentoring, next to the Money-and-Clarity Scorecard. It is coaching, not legal, tax or financial advice: Ivanka does not draft shareholder agreements or value equity. Take the written map to your lawyer and accountant before anything is signed.

## Two questions, kept apart

In the session, Ivanka asked the founder to put the cash gap and the partnership on separate pages. Then she asked: what does the co-founder own, which decisions need writing, what money expectations are explicit, and what happens in the first six months? She kept the discussion on roles and decision rights, not legal terms. The founder wrote the first-six-month map and one commitment: to talk it through with the co-founder before any percentage was mentioned again.

### The questions

- How big is the cash gap, and for how long?
- What will the co-founder own?
- Which decisions need both of you?
- What does each of you expect to be paid, and when?
- What will you not promise until the map is written?

### THE FOUR-STEP LOOP

1. The one thing: Equity offered to cover a cash gap.
2. The numbers: The gap, its length and the money expectations.
3. The story: Why the percentage felt easier than the conversation.
4. The commitment: The six-month map, shared before any equity.

Before the next session, the founder walked the co-founder through the map, noted where they disagreed and brought the open points back.

## Cash and ownership, decided separately

By month 6, the founder has written decision rights for the first six months, a record of the cash and equity conversation, and one commitment that keeps short cash gaps apart from long-term ownership.

**BEFORE**

- Equity offered to cover the salary.
- Roles described in conversation only.
- Money expectations never said aloud.
- Every decision a guess about whose call it was.

**BY MONTH 6**

- A written first-six-month map.
- Decision rights both people have read.
- A record of the money conversation.
- Equity decided on its own, with advisers.

The programme is the container: 12 fortnightly 60-minute sessions, a monthly scorecard, and reviews at month 3 and month 6.

## Write the first six months before the percentage

Ivanka Menken built 1:1 Mentoring for founders of $500K to $3M businesses who keep carrying the same decisions. Every fortnight she helps you name one decision, write the commitment and check it two weeks later.
This fits if you are bringing in a co-founder, partner or investor while cash is tight and the conversation keeps landing on equity. It does not fit if you want legal advice, a valuation or someone to draft the agreement. The decision in front of you is what the first six months look like. Write that before any number.

> Helps founders lead with clarity and integrity by modelling vulnerability, emotional intelligence, and grounded decision-making. Creates an environment where leaders can openly explore challenges and grow without fear of judgement.
>
> R.W., founder

## Who fits, and who does not

### It fits

- You are bringing in a co-founder or partner while cash is tight.
- Equity is on the table because salary is not.
- Decision rights and money expectations are still unwritten.
- You will have the conversation and write it down.

### It does not fit

- You want legal, tax or financial advice.
- You want a shareholder agreement drafted or equity valued.
- You want a done-for-you fix.
- You have already signed and want to undo it.

### Investment

**AUD $1,500 per month ex GST, 6 months.** The Fortnight Loop is part of 1:1 Mentoring, a 6-month programme at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST. It is not sold separately.

Included:

- 12 fortnightly 60-minute sessions
- A monthly one-page scorecard
- Reviews at month 3 and month 6
- The Fortnight Loop for every partnership decision

Three founding places in total, shared across 1:1 Mentoring and its three focus programmes, are available at A$1,000 a month, in return for honest monthly feedback and a testimonial, which can be anonymous.

- [Join 1:1 Mentoring, AUD $1,500/mo, 6 months](/mentoring)
- [Book a 20-minute intro call](https://theartofservice.zohobookings.com.au/?utm_source=ivankamenken&utm_medium=showcase&utm_campaign=cash-pressure-equity-decision#/15606000001356030)
- [See the 1:1 Mentoring programme](https://ivankamenken.com/mentoring)

## Questions about Fortnight Loop

### Should I give equity because I cannot pay cash?

Not as a cash fix. A cash gap is usually temporary; equity is permanent. Separate the two: cover the gap as a cash question, and decide ownership once the first six months are written down. Ivanka Menken works through that split with you inside 1:1 Mentoring, 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST. Take the ownership decision to your lawyer and accountant.

### What should be agreed in the first six months?

What the co-founder owns, which decisions need both of you, such as hiring, spending and key clients, and what money each person expects and from when. Write it in plain words and share it before any percentage is discussed. Ivanka Menken helps you write that map inside 1:1 Mentoring, a programme of 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST.

### Is this legal advice?

No. It is coaching, not legal, tax or financial advice. Ivanka Menken does not draft shareholder agreements or value equity. She helps you get clear on roles, decision rights and money expectations, so the conversation with your lawyer and accountant starts from a written map. That work sits inside 1:1 Mentoring, 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST.

### How does 1:1 Mentoring handle co-founder decisions?

One decision at a time, through the Fortnight Loop. Each fortnight you name the decision, write the commitment and check it two weeks later. For a new co-founder that often starts with the six-month map, then moves to who owns clients and reporting. Ivanka Menken runs 1:1 Mentoring for 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST.


## Decide the cash and the equity separately

If a cash gap is pushing you towards giving equity, start with 1:1 Mentoring. The Fortnight Loop is inside it, and the 20-minute intro call is where you can see whether the programme fits.

- [Join 1:1 Mentoring, AUD $1,500/mo, 6 months](/mentoring)
- [Book a 20-minute intro call](https://theartofservice.zohobookings.com.au/?utm_source=ivankamenken&utm_medium=showcase&utm_campaign=cash-pressure-equity-decision#/15606000001356030)
- [See the 1:1 Mentoring programme](https://ivankamenken.com/mentoring)
- [Write who decides on clients, money, hiring and reporting](https://ivankamenken.com/co-founder-client-decision-rights)
- [Test a hire against revenue cover](https://ivankamenken.com/salary-cover-test)
- [Write the role charter before hiring](https://ivankamenken.com/role-charter-before-hiring)
- [The 1:1 Mentoring programme](https://ivankamenken.com/mentoring)

- Every way to work with Ivanka: https://ivankamenken.com/work-with-ivanka