No exploitation is necessary if it just so happens you have a common interest. There's a lot of people who want to do a startup but don't know how: How do you m

No exploitation is necessary if it just so happens you have a common interest. There's a lot of people who want to do a startup but don't know how: How do you make deals? How do you raise money? How do you hire? One way to learn is to go off and do it. The other is to join an early-enough startup that is still learning all these things and learn with them without the risks. When you're ready, go off and do your own thing. The people you want to surround yourself with are the ones more interested in helping each other than exploiting each other. I honestly don't have much belief in the taking-it-for-the-team guilt trip approach. If the job is not in everyone's interest then it's time to re-work the incentives (equity?).