Cognitive Scaffold

Preparing your thinking workspace

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MENTAL MODEL · M0662

Pie Slicing

Pie Slicing
BusinessHigh supportManagement
Included
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Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-30

CORE DEFINITION

In startups, equity should not be fixed on day one (e.g., 50/50), but should be dynamically adjusted based on the market value of each person's actual contributions of capital, time, and resources. Equity is only solidified when the company has cash flow to pay salaries.

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

Reduce cognitive load

Fair distribution. Prevents 'free-riding' and 'founder conflicts'. Ensures equity structure reflects real contributions, not arbitrary promises.

anchor

Anchor fast decisions

The core of dynamic equity (e.g., Slicing Pie model): contributions occur continuously, and equity should accumulate incrementally based on actual inputs (capital, time, resources, converted at market value), rather than being split equally on 'day 0' when information is minimal. Equity remains fluid until the company can generate cash salaries, then solidifies, making the equity structure reflect true contributions and penalize free-riding.

MINIMUM ACTION

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Practice this model in one real situation:

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Source support: Explicit

  • link
    slicingpie.comhttps://slicingpie.com/learn-slicing-pie/perfectly-fair-equity-splits-for-bootstrapped-startups-xlZH · Explicit
    verified

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