Not if they are actively participating. They might have a seat. They might vote on deals. They might actually help.

Dead equity does none of the these things. Think of it as spent or no longer in play.

I don't know why some people are so touchy about the term. It's not a value judgment on the contributor. Furthermore, I would argue that a lot of the time Angel investment or friends and family investment is dead Equity too

How could you say that? VCs are there to go to bat for you, make connections that change the trajectory of your business, and support you however they can. /s

Yeah, that's why they pay a lot of money to get in. Would you give your buddy joe that doesn't do any work 10% for fun?