What vesting schedule should I use?

Short answer

4 years, monthly, 1-year cliff. This is what 90%+ of UK and US startups use, including for founder vesting. Deviate only with a clear reason.

The standard

• Total period: 4 years — long enough that employees stay through a typical Series A → exit timeline, short enough not to feel infinite.
• 1-year cliff — nothing vests until month 12. If the hire doesn't work out in the first year, no shares vest. Then 25% vests in one chunk at month 12.
• Monthly thereafter — 1/48 vests per month from month 13 to month 48.

Net: by month 48 the recipient has 100%.

Variations worth considering

Variation	When to use
3 years monthly, 6-month cliff	Senior hires where 4 years feels long for both sides; common in UK growth-stage companies
4 years quarterly, no cliff	When you want a fairer split but don't need the "first year flush-out" the cliff provides
Founder vesting: 4 years with the cliff backdated to incorporation	Standard if you've raised external money. VCs require founder vesting on their cheque.
Double-trigger acceleration on change of control	Senior hires only. Vesting accelerates if the company is acquired AND the recipient is terminated within 12 months. Track manually for now — Blankitt doesn't model triggers yet.

Pitfalls

• Don't do annual vesting ("100% vests every 12 months"). It's blunt and creates retention cliffs that bite at year 2.
• Don't do "100% on hire" for non-founders. It removes any retention incentive.
• Match the cliff for everyone. If different employees have different cliff lengths, the cap-table maths gets messy.
• Get the vesting start date right. Use the hire date, not the grant date — they can differ for late EMI valuations.