> **The question:** I joined early, took a lower salary, and accepted equity that looked fine at the time.
> Looking at later hires in less senior roles, my grant is clearly short of the mark.
> I want to raise it, but I don't want to sound resentful or like I'm rewriting history.
> How do I ask for a correction in a way that lands as a business case, not a complaint?
>
> *(a Head of Growth at an early-stage marketplace)*


This is winnable, but only if you argue forward, about what is fair going forward, rather than backward, about what went wrong. Resentment reads as a problem to manage. A calm benchmark reads as a correction to make.

Build the case on three legs:

- **Benchmark.** What does someone in your role, at this stage and ownership level, typically hold? Use real market ranges, not feelings.
- **Contribution.** Tie your equity to the value you have created and de-risked since joining. Early, senior, and proven is the strongest possible position.
- **Mechanism.** Ask for a refresh grant or catch-up grant, the normal vehicle for exactly this. You are not reopening the original deal. You are requesting the standard correction.

Frame it as alignment: "I'm here for the long arc, and I want my ownership to reflect my role and what I've built." Founders respond to people who are betting on the company and asking to be fairly weighted. That reads as a partner rather than a complainer. Pick a moment after a clear win, when your impact is freshest.