> it absolutely does not make sense to consider the shares granted to be worthless That is very true. The specific situation of a Unicorn is somewhat value gr

> it absolutely does not make sense to consider the shares granted to be worthless That is very true. The specific situation of a Unicorn is somewhat value growth (+ dilution) without direct market corrections for an extended period of time. For a Unicorn the possibility of being able to encash the value in real money needs to be considered. In general, the value needs to be multiplied by one of two factors. Possibility of an 83(B) + your ability to buy yourself out of the golden hand-cuffs against the potential length of your tenure, even in the last months of a pre-IPO hold-out situation within the company. Those are realistic factors to consider, with the latter being the biggest toss-up bet there.