Even given the generous 10% success rate, and 1% equity comp, you need to factor in dilution, time till maturity, whether the company even goes public, and belo

Even given the generous 10% success rate, and 1% equity comp, you need to factor in dilution, time till maturity, whether the company even goes public, and below market salary/benefits. After that, I'll bet that in the vast majority of cases your maximum upside is significantly less than what you'd have with the standard bigco package. Edit: not to day there isn't legitimate reason for joining a startup: it's just if the work isn't super interesting, you're getting tricked