I don't know. I think if you truly believe in the product you are building (as opposed to "just having a job", which is a perfectly valid position) having stock

I don't know. I think if you truly believe in the product you are building (as opposed to "just having a job", which is a perfectly valid position) having stock options is a good motivator. I know it's not possible to predict 100% of the time which startups are going to "make it", but it's definitely not rocket science to filter the crappy ones out. As a rule of thumb: don't count on your stock options being worth millions if you are leaving a job for a better opportunity in a product you like better. Your actions are saying everything you need to know about the value of those options.