It's a rarely discussed, yet critically important, success criteria in entrepreneurship… talent acquisition.  And let's face it, getting the right people aboard your company is one of the toughest things to do.  Especially when you are resource constrained in the early days of your startup.

It can be really easy for an early-stage entrepreneur to worry about maximizing his/her outcome from Day 1.  But the more experience I get, the more I think that's really the wrong way to approach the problem.  IMO, entrepreneurs need to understand that regardless of how good their idea is, it isn't unique.  Odds are, someone out there has come up with at least a similar idea that will pummel yours… unless you do a better job finding the right people to make your vision a reality.

The most important thing an early stage entrepreneur can do is sell their vision to other members of a Founding team who, if engaged, can make that vision a reality.

I have a mentor who repeatedly says two things that make a ton of sense to me:

"Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered" — that one comes from the world of investing
"The only way to maximize your outcome in a startup is stay relevant"

If you want to get your great idea off the ground, get out there and find the best people you can to bring your company to market.  You may end up with less equity as a result, but your odds of succeeding will be a lot higher.