Show HN: Space for Equity Deals between Entrepreneurs and Property Owners

Keep in mind that every entity to whom you give shares in your company is now a part-owner. To the degree that rent will be a major expense in the early years, when your valuation is at its lowest, your landlord could end up owning a non-trivial portion of your company. He/she/it is going to have a vote on every significant ownership even in your company's life cycle -- Series A, B, C financing, sale of the company, etc. Also think about what will happen if the landlord comes to you in a few years and wants to sell these shares. You're then going to be stuck re-purchasing them out of operating funds, or risking a sale of equity to an unknown third party.

The whole point of venture capital is that VC's are willing and able to translate equity in your start-up into cash, which you can then use to pay for things like rent and legal bills. That's clearly beneficial to them, but also to you, since you can then pay your bills in cash instead of managing monthly share transactions.