I didn't say it's never worth anything. I said it's not worth anything until a qualifying event has occurred. It doesn't matter how much your equity is valued if I can't cash it out.
Good luck getting equity in a 'startup' after a qualifying event like an IPO.
Nothing wrong in wanting certainty. But certainty on the downside matches certainty on the upside. If you don't care about the upside then why would you join a startup?
Are you asserting that stock options are the only reason to join a startup? Because that's fallacious at the very least. (And by the way, this "Why would you join a startup?" question is exactly what that founder said to me when I tried to negotiate on salary. Not exactly a great way to win people over.)
There are plenty of companies that have IPO'd that offer stock as compensation, by the way. I've worked for a few. That stock directly translates into cash once it vests. (Well, assuming the stock price goes up -- but at least cashing out is an option!)
You also seem to be asserting that I'm rejecting equity completely. As I've said in my parent comments, I'm certainly not. I'm simply placing a premium on salary (cash) over stock options (not likely to become cash). Of course I want equity. I don't not want it. But it doesn't replace salary, and I can't pay my rent with options.
The whole point of equity from a startup's perspective is to save on cash when you're small, so why would you get equity if it won't replace salary?
Yes I'm aware of things like restricted stock units. But you shouldn't really think of them as the same thing as private startup stock. Just like small-cap stocks need different strategies from large-cap, or stocks from bonds. You don't want to assess one category by the standards of another.
Salary and stock are separate categories, sure, but choosing an employer is nothing but an exercise in comparing apples and oranges anyway. You have to decide how much liquid cash you need for rent or a down-payment on a house. Once you account for such scenarios the rest is just an investment riding into the future one way or another. Past that point things get fungible.
It sounds like the bad experience you had may not have had enough cash to cover liquidity needs. The founder should have just expressed regret that they can't afford the salary a larger place can. It's another common mistake startups make: assuming (in the course of a hard sell) that there is one rational choice for everyone regardless of their circumstances.
> If you don't care about the upside then why would you join a startup?
For some people, money is what allows them to take a job they desire for other reasons (since, you know, you have to pay for necessities somehow), without financial considerations being the sole motivation for choosing one place of work over another.
That's fair, dragonwriter. I saw your comment above as well. In the context of this thread I'm only thinking about things from a harsh economic perspective, but if you loosen that constraint of course you gain a lot more options.
