I think you're vastly overestimating the value of those early days. Valuable startups are built over ~10 years, and people who join early are every bit as impor

I think you're vastly overestimating the value of those early days. Valuable startups are built over ~10 years, and people who join early are every bit as important to that success as the founders. Consider what returns seed investors get. Someone who puts $250k on a $5m "valuation" gets 5% of the company. Most founders aren't giving up _that_ much money before hiring employees. Over the 5-10 years it takes a startup to make options valuable, pretty much every early hire (founders included) loses at least $250k in salary differential. Employees are lucky to make that back for middle of the road successes.