In addition to this, to narrow the scope strictly within software engineering, I don't think too many people on HN would sign an employment contract that states

In addition to this, to narrow the scope strictly within software engineering, I don't think too many people on HN would sign an employment contract that states that cash will be paid or equity vested "whenever". So why the hate for deadlines? Software engineering does not exist in vacuum separated from business constraints like runway or annual budgets. To demand deadlines of your employer but to not be willing to even try to meet deadlines in deliverables seems to me to be a bit unprofessional and disconnected from the underlying business reality. A whole company that wants to shrug off this underlying business reality seems even worse. A series B startup that doesn't meet deadlines might not even be in business in 6 months.