Negotiation advice, a request, and a grant that already exists are three different things.
Michael Seibel’s Y Combinator note, checked 14 October 2026, limits itself to early, pre-product-market-fit, venture-funded technology startups. It is not written for other businesses or later-stage companies. He recommends four-year vesting and a one-year cliff for all founders, because equity is for work not yet done. If a cofounder leaves or is fired before the cliff, still pre-product-market fit, he says he has seen a token amount, from five percent down to two percent. After the cliff but still pre-product-market fit, he recommends they retain no more than five percent, which often means giving some equity back. That is his recommendation for that situation. It is not a law, and it is not a general duty to surrender vested rights.
Cooley GO, last reviewed 20 April 2022, explains single-trigger and double-trigger acceleration as those terms are used in US startup and venture practice. One event, often a sale, is not the same as two events, and the page says a single trigger on a sale is not the norm even for founders. The terms may mean something else in another context. The grant and local law control. Acceleration language is not a power to confiscate shares that have already vested.
If the company’s lawyer is in the room for a departure, ask who the client is before you treat the advice as yours. The comment on ABA Model Rule 1.13 is a US model rule, not UAE law. It does not require a second firm for every small decision. A disputed departure is one moment to ask whether you need your own adviser.
Question. What changes when a reset or repurchase asks a departing founder to surrender already-vested rights?
The page says the advice is for early, pre-product-market-fit, venture-funded technology startups, and not for other businesses or later-stage companies. It recommends four-year vesting and a one-year cliff for all founders. If a cofounder leaves or is fired before the cliff, still pre-product-market fit, Seibel says he has seen a token amount, from five percent down to two percent. After the cliff but still pre-product-market fit, he recommends they retain no more than five percent, which often means giving some equity back. That is his recommendation for that situation, not a law and not a general duty to surrender vested rights. The page said “over 1 year ago”; no precise date was shown.
US startup and venture practice writing. The page says the terms may be understood differently in other contexts, including public companies. Single-trigger acceleration is vesting that speeds up on one event, often a sale, and sometimes an involuntary termination. It says this is not the norm even for founders and key executives. Double-trigger acceleration needs two events. Rights depend on the grant and on local law. The page does not create a power to take shares that have already vested.
The comment says the organisational client is a legal entity and cannot act except through officers, directors, employees, shareholders, and other constituents. It is a US model rule, not UAE law. A direct request was blocked; a second fetch returned the comment. A company lawyer is not automatically the founder’s lawyer.