This. If you're getting below-market salary (market salary minus some delta), plus substantial equity, this is economically equivalent to getting paid a market

This. If you're getting below-market salary (market salary minus some delta), plus substantial equity, this is economically equivalent to getting paid a market salary and then investing delta dollars into the startup. Where delta is likely thousands (or tens of thousands) of dollars per year, and a substantial portion of your income. Obviously, you should understand exactly what you're getting when talking about such large amounts of money. Which means understanding both the total EV of the business (how big it will be on a success that allows you to cash out, times the probability that will happen) and the cap structure (because you also have to multiply by the percentage that you own).