To be honest, some of this seems like a pretty fun working environment. I don't see anything egregious about these work conditions, other than the terrible wor

To be honest, some of this seems like a pretty fun working environment. I don't see anything egregious about these work conditions, other than the terrible work life balance, the worthless stock options and below market rate salaries. If you can find a better salary elsewhere with good work/life balance, then do it. Just because people choose to work in these environments doesn't mean they've been duped. As for the stock options, generally speaking, you shouldn't expect too much value out of those.