Hi everyone! I have encountered an issue that goes beyond my limited understanding of startup equity and I am hoping some of you would be willing to share your experience and insight. Thank you in advance for reading this.

I am part of the founding team of a biotech startup (got involved before the company had a name and my project is one of the core focues of the company's short term growth goals). I am currently finishing my PhD and my boss is one of the founders of the company, so I am not currently an employee but I am performing work directly related to the company in addition to my grad school work. I reached an agreement with the other founders a couple of months back that I would officially join the company upon completing my PhD for an equity percentage vesting over 4 years. Now, one of the lawyers for the company is claiming that it would be better for me to sign on as a consultant now and purchase my shares at a reduced cost once they finish the valuation in the next few weeks. The justification offered is that it will be better for me in the long-term in ragard to the taxes I will ultimately have to pay if the company succeeds and I sell my shares. However, I am not interested in purchasing anything considering the fact that I am a key member of the team and I am currently performing free work for the company (one of two people currently working on the science that the company is founded on).

So, I guess my question is, is there any validity to the claims that purchasing my shares is a better choice than the vesting schedule that was originally agreed upon? I am working on talking with a lawyer of my own but I was hoping I could get a little bit of feedback from here as well.

Thanks again for any assistance!