Senior candidates turn down startup offers for three reasons: they don't believe the story, they don't believe the equity, or they don't believe you. These objections are the specific versions of those three.
01
"Why should I leave [big-co] for a company at your stage?"
Why it lands
The candidate has a comfortable job with a known comp package. You have to offer something the big co structurally can't: scope, speed, or ownership.
What to say
Name the specific scope you're offering ('you'd be the first engineering hire on the payments team; you own it end to end'), and one thing big co can't replicate ('you'd ship v1 in 6 weeks, not 6 quarters'). Do not compete on comp : you'll lose.
Fix on the deck
Add a 'What you'd own in year 1' slide with 3-5 specific outcomes the candidate would ship. Concrete, not aspirational.
02
"What's this equity actually worth?"
Why it lands
Most equity math is opaque and the candidate has been burned before. If you don't do the math for them, they'll assume the number is small.
What to say
Show three exit scenarios ($100M, $500M, $2B) and the value of their grant at each, net of dilution. State your fully-diluted share count and the last preferred price. Do not hide behind 'we don't share that.'
Fix on the deck
Add an equity math slide with fully-diluted share count, last preferred price, and a 3-scenario table showing dollar value at exit. Include the dilution assumption.
03
"How long is your runway?"
Why it lands
Senior candidates have seen startups run out of cash. If you don't volunteer the number, they assume it's short.
What to say
State runway explicitly: 'We have 18 months at current burn, 24 months if we hit the plan.' Name the milestone that triggers the next round and the funds you've had specific conversations with.
Fix on the deck
Add a 'company health' slide near the ask with runway, burn, and the milestone that triggers the next round. Not a fundraising slide.
04
"What's it like to work with the founders?"
Why it lands
The single biggest predictor of a senior hire staying past year 2 is whether they trust the founding team. Vague answers trigger vague trust.
What to say
Offer 3-5 references from people who've worked with you (not investors): a past hire, a past manager, a past co-founder. Pre-clear that they can be called this week, not next month.
Fix on the deck
Add a 'People who'll take a call about us' slide with 5 names and roles. Do not include your investors.
05
"The job description was 8 bullet points of everything."
Why it lands
Kitchen-sink JDs signal the founder doesn't know what the role actually is, which means the hire will thrash for 6 months figuring it out.
What to say
State the top-3 outcomes the role owns in year 1. Cut everything else. Say what the role does NOT do (things the founder or another hire owns).
Fix on the deck
Replace the JD slide with a 'first 90 days' slide: what you ship week 4, week 8, week 12. Plus a scope-boundaries slide: what you own, what you don't.
06
"You've got 6 people : I'd be building a lot of process from scratch."
Why it lands
Senior candidates want autonomy, but not chaos. If they think they'll spend year 1 building process instead of shipping, they'll take the safer offer.
What to say
Show what process already exists (planning cadence, on-call rotation, code review culture, hiring loop). Concede what doesn't and frame it as their scope to define.
Fix on the deck
Add a 'How we work' slide: existing rituals, tools, decision-making style. Two lines each. Cite the specific practices the candidate would inherit and the ones they'd get to design.