What to do in an equity disagreement in a startup
puzzle-out: This could be pure speculation, as I don't know the details, but it seems Michael messed up the negotiations with the angel, and is trying to rectify it by negotiating you down. I'm not a hacker, more the business person, and when negotiating with hackers I offer a relatively low equity stake, fully expecting to be pushed up - to invert this process like Michael, well, if you get close to an exit, make sure he isn't in charge of negotiations with the buyer.