Your argument is premised on the assumption that startup employees are being underpaid. If they are really being underpaid, why did they agree to join the start

Your argument is premised on the assumption that startup employees are being underpaid. If they are really being underpaid, why did they agree to join the startup in the first place? Why not pursue other career options where they won't be underpaid? We aren't talking about big companies like Google or Amazon, which have tremendous negotiating power; we're talking about startups, which by definition, possess little market power through which to distort wages. The idea that someone can point to a very competitive marketplace, and unilaterally declare that the goods are being "undervalued", goes against all free-market/capitalist principles.