You never want key members of the team to have questions about whether their effort is going to be rewarded in the event of a nice liquidity event. 0.2% would be great if you're working for the next Google--but even Google gave away more then 0.2% to their first employee. If it's not the next Google, think long and hard about how you're spending your time. The only reason anyone, other than the founders, works for a startup is for the liquidity event (or a solid future of profit sharing if no such event is planned). When we hire our first full-time employee we expect to offer them 1-5%, depending on their other compensation requirements and what they bring to the team.
Also, 12-14 hour days and seven day weeks are not productive over a sustained period, and they're a sign that the founders don't have a lot of real world experience. It can work out, if everyone is just that passionate and feels like founding members of a great company, but I don't think 0.2% (vested over four years) would make me feel like a founding member.
I'd say get out...Not just because the carrot (0.2%) is much smaller than the stick (12-14 hour days), but because I'd lay good odds on this company failing fast. From the small bits of data we have, I believe your companies management is incompetent.
You never want key members of the team to have questions about whether their effort is going to be rewarded in the event of a nice liquidity event. 0.2% would be great if you're working for the next Google--but even Google gave away more then 0.2% to their first employee. If it's not the next Google, think long and hard about how you're spending your time. The only reason anyone, other than the founders, works for a startup is for the liquidity event (or a solid future of profit sharing if no such event is planned). When we hire our first full-time employee we expect to offer them 1-5%, depending on their other compensation requirements and what they bring to the team.
Also, 12-14 hour days and seven day weeks are not productive over a sustained period, and they're a sign that the founders don't have a lot of real world experience. It can work out, if everyone is just that passionate and feels like founding members of a great company, but I don't think 0.2% (vested over four years) would make me feel like a founding member.
I'd say get out...Not just because the carrot (0.2%) is much smaller than the stick (12-14 hour days), but because I'd lay good odds on this company failing fast. From the small bits of data we have, I believe your companies management is incompetent.