Right, anytime I take reduced compensation my cliff becomes very short. If it does not then it is not the deal for me. Any other arrangement leaves you in a position to hold the bag. Now there are a multitude of way that that vesting can be scheduled for example an introductory 3 month window where there is no vesting and then a sliding scale where each month compounds until fully vested at 12. I am sorry but any deal where you take reduced compensation with no equity until 12 months is a bad deal. This post being a prime example of why.