equity, vestingHow long is usually a reasonable amount of time to apply over a vesting deal that affects the founders of the startup, where they get a true share of the company based on how long they dedicate to the idea? What other protections can be applied to grant that a founder who leaves the company does not become a provider of its “secrets” and techniques, applying it to a similar product that competes with the former company directly?
In the US, 4 years, even for founders, is the norm for vesting. See Brad Feld's write-up on vesting here.
On your question on secrets, and again US-specific, all employees and founders, should sign a basic inventions and confidentiality agreement. These will generally cover items that are not already in the public domain. But it is hard to enforce, especially at the startup level.
Making vesting based on duration, and not performance, in my opinion is what it is. My experience is that people work harder to keep what they already have, than gain something they hope to get. As such, I prefer clawback provisions.
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