Hiring & Compensation

Attract talent and withstand scrutiny.

Hiring early employees, advisors, and executives is where your company’s culture, cost structure, and reputation in the talent market are set. It’s also where classification mistakes, improvised equity promises, and unclear IP ownership can create enduring problems. Altum helps you design hiring and compensation practices that attract and retain top talent while staying aligned with employment law and investor expectations.

Founders can move quickly on people decisions. They mix templates, offer equity informally, or treat contractors like employees without understanding the legal implications. Over time this creates misclassified workers, inconsistent offers, unclear IP ownership, and equity promises that are hard to honor or explain in diligence.

With Altum’s counsel, you get a coherent approach to roles, offers, and incentives, not just one-off documents, so your team can grow with confidence.

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“Altum helped us turn a collection of one-off offers into a coherent hiring and equity approach. Candidates get clearer offers, our team understands how compensation works, and investors were comfortable with how we’ve built the team.”

What We Do:

  • Design of hiring and compensation strategies that align with your goals, markets, and investor expectations.
  • Compensation structure and equity approach for early employees, executives, and advisors, including leveling input where appropriate.
  • Offer letters, employment agreements, and independent contractor or advisor agreements that are clear, consistent, and enforceable.
  • Top-line guidance on worker classification, wage and hour issues, and other employment law considerations, with specialist counsel brought in where deeper jurisdiction-specific advice is needed.
  • Equity compensation planning, including option plans, grants, vesting terms, and advisor equity, coordinated with your cap table and financing plans.

Benefits:

  • You offer clear, compelling packages that candidates understand and trust.
  • Your compensation and equity structures are competitive in your market and consistent across the team.
  • Employees, contractors, and advisors are properly classified and documented in line with applicable legal standards.
  • IP and confidentiality are properly assigned to the company from day one.
  • Your equity promises match what your cap table and governing documents can support, reducing friction in financing and acquisitions.