Some folks commenting seem to be missing some of the point. Ben isn’t trying to say “startups pay $100k, Google pays $110k”. Those are round numbers deliberate

Some folks commenting seem to be missing some of the point. Ben isn’t trying to say “startups pay $100k, Google pays $110k”. Those are round numbers deliberately picked out of the air (which obviously don’t match expected comp at either startups, or Google). It’s an analysis of how to value stock options in high growth startups. As someone who routinely tells people to value stock options at zero, this analysis has convinced me to value them at something closer to 5% expected return lottery ticket. So, still basically a garbage deal, but I’m convinced by his argument. I’ll note one other downside I haven’t seen anyone else mention: BigTechCo managers (including me) won’t hire people who appear to job hop every 1-2 years. Why would I invest in you, when your contribution to the team is barely positive for the first 6 months, if you’re going to change teams in such a short time. I understand it’s different in startup land, but job hopping more than once is a red flag for most hiring managers I know at big tech companies.