I think that 97% number is misleading. Sure, maybe 97% fail, but most have already failed before taking on an employee on equity. A more appropriate number wo

I think that 97% number is misleading. Sure, maybe 97% fail, but most have already failed before taking on an employee on equity. A more appropriate number would be the number of startups that fail after that milestone. For instance, I calculated the numbers for my country, 40% of startups that get accepted into an incubator succeed, 40% fail and close, and 20% stagnate (mine is currently in the 20%). So, you're buying a 40% ticket, not a 3% ticket. Still losing odds, but not so much so, and if you're an early employee, you can really help tilt the odds (5%? 10%? I don't know).