Maybe for employees like 1-5. Beyond that is rapidly diminishing amounts of equity. I was employee #49 and got like 40,000 shares options (that I had to buy)

And even if you are like employee #3, the actual owner and investors get more than you

I agree in principle that start up employees can be incentivized better than the usual wage or salary slave.

There is always a big butt, though.

Non-capital investors almost always get shares of a lower class that can be denied a share of any future revenue from a sale of the company or god forbid they get real revenue.

These term “Hollywood accounting” exists for a reason and skepticism about the real value of lower class shares is very valid.

Exactly, there is a place in the world for startups burning 80 hr/wk. Just compensate the people who are doing that adequately with equity, and hire risk takers who want that kind of risk.