I would like to focus on those comments that are questioning if stocks are just a way to trick employees in getting a lower salary. I believe that regardless of

I would like to focus on those comments that are questioning if stocks are just a way to trick employees in getting a lower salary. I believe that regardless of the lifestyle you want to have, stocks have the potential to make you really wealthy, way more than collecting salaries. In startups a good salary will give you an affordable and stable life, sometimes short-term security (because a higher salary like 200k/yr could only last a couple of years until the startup cease to exist). On the other side stocks are the best investment to drastically improve your finances. To put it in layman's terms, it usually take many years, sometimes a lifetime, to buy long-term security, a nice house and fast cars just by collecting a salary month by month. Selling earned stocks can do all of that in 2/4 years. If it doesn't, then move on. It's a bet and a different type of gambling, therefore should be treated as such. Now, if you can or cannot afford to gamble it's a different story. In my experience people with families understandably lower their risks by preferring a higher salary, while those who don't have any wife/kids prefer stocks. Regardless of that, this doesn't change the fact that stocks have the potential of being worth 10-20-30-N times a yearly salary, and sometimes that qualifies them as a good bet to some people (and certainly it does for founders and investors).