If you want to hire a freelance consultant for a well-defined project on a short-term basis then their GHRR is equal to their "start-up" consulting rate times two.

Make sure you invite them to this guide so they will understand a Grunt Fund. You should reserve the right to "buy them out" within one year of the last day they render services. You may have to pre-negotiate the buyout rate but never pay more than twice their rate. Remember, you need to compensate them for not only the work they did, but also for the risk they take.

One way to negotiate a buy back with a consultant is to offer them a sliding scale that will build to twice their rate over one year (or two). The scale looks like this for a one-year deal:

So, if you received financing nine months after you stopped working with a contractor you could settle-up with them for 173% of their original bill. This is a pretty nice return for the contractor. A 100% premium might be too high or too low depending on the type of work. As long as you figure it out in advance you should be okay.

After twelve months they receive pie which should translate into an equity grant that they can keep. You can always offer to buy it back after a year, but they should not be required to sell it to you. Remember, they took the risk and helped you when you needed the help. You can't renege later-it's not fair.

The buyback option should have a one-year protection clause that allows the consultant to receive the full value of the shares if the company sells or goes public within 365 days after the buyback occurs.

This will prevent the company from buying back the equity at the last minute before a liquidation event to turn a quick profit at the expense of the Grunt. That would be a dick move (even if it's perfectly legal).