I need a sanity check to know whether I'm being screwed or not - I have no idea anymore, and have no one to talk to who'd really know how to advise me.
Some background on me - I don't have a fancy CS degree(do have business undergrad) and I don't live near any of the tech hotspots. I also have about 4 years experience as a full stack dev.
I have been working for a startup for about a year where we had a verbal agreement(I know, I know... but I was desperate for work at the time) that I would receive 3%(300M valuation at this stage) of the company in exchange for a regular, but only OK salary. However, no bonuses or overtime, because I'm a shareholder.
So, predictably, I have been working a lot of overtime - 12 hour days, almost every second weekend, ect. I'm also being treated like a regular employee, not a shareholder(not being kept in the loop about business regularly, given orders, and such).
But in our last shares-related conversation, it was revealed that I will, in fact, only get 3% of the allocated shares(50% allocated, 50% unallocated). This means that I only get 1.5% of issued shares, when considering future dilution possibilities.
So now I'm feeling... I dunno. I feel I'm being screwed, but not sure if I am. It was a sneaky move to not be upfront about what exactly I'm getting, but my desperation also lead me to not push for a clear written agreement. But maybe 1.5% of a growing 300M company is not bad for someone who was only looking for work?
Another thing to consider: the income projections indicate that profitability can only reasonably be expected in about 3 years time. This means that if I continue and accept my 1.5%, I'll be working at least 3 years with no overtime pay, no bonuses, and a doubtful prospect for increases before being eligible for distributions(if there would be any).
What would you do? Am I being screwed? Am I being stupid? Should I hold out and see how it goes?
