I hate to say it, but the fact that she wanted market rates AND equity should have been a tip off that she didn't care about the idea. If I care about an idea,

I hate to say it, but the fact that she wanted market rates AND equity should have been a tip off that she didn't care about the idea. If I care about an idea, I'll work on it for free (and maybe a bit of equity). If all I care about is getting paid, I'll focus much more on the salary, and that seems like what she did here. If she was planning to ride it out long term, she would've definitely demanded more equity up front, and she would have offered to take a lower salary. It's not financially stupid to take as low a salary as possible in a startup. Lower salaries = more runway = more chance of eventual success = equity stake is worth something = rich.