Expert Session | Pave + Infinite Equity
The Context Behind Equity Strategy: Why Market Data and Company Realities Both Matter
Benchmarks show where the market is, but they can’t tell you what fits your company. In this expert session deck, Infinite Equity pairs Pave’s market data with practical context on eligibility, grant vehicles, vesting, and burn, so you can build an equity strategy you can defend.

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Equity Data Needs a Philosophy to Go With It

Base salary bands work because they rest on clear levels, clear ranges, and a clear rationale for where someone lands. Equity rarely gets the same discipline. In Pave’s data on AI/ML new hires, equity grants vary far more than base salary does. When two peers hired in the same quarter end up far apart and no one can explain why, the gap is in the philosophy, and no benchmark will close it.
 
This deck covers what Pave’s market data shows on equity eligibility, vehicles, vesting, burn rate, and retention. Each data slide is paired with the company context that determines whether a benchmark applies to you. Use it as a practical frame for deciding when to match the market, when to depart from it, and how to explain either choice to leaders and employees.

What's Inside

  • Who gets equity, and when: new-hire equity is broad, while ongoing equity concentrates on seniority.
  • Why equity differentiates performance more sharply than salary.
  • When companies shift from options to RSUs, and the headcount and funding signals that predict it.
  • How vesting is diverging, with public companies shortening schedules and dropping cliffs while private companies hold steady.
  • What drives equity burn beyond industry, and how the mix shifts from new-hire to refresh grants as companies mature.
  • How to use unvested equity value by tenure as a retention diagnostic.

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