I've come to the same conclusion about startups vs. FAANG - I finally buckled 3 years ago and joined one, my initial grant 3x'd and my refresh grants 2x'd...tha

I've come to the same conclusion about startups vs. FAANG - I finally buckled 3 years ago and joined one, my initial grant 3x'd and my refresh grants 2x'd...that's a lot of wealth that startups weren't giving me, not even going into performance bonuses. Startups can be a good deal for a founder though since VCs seem to be getting them in on the payout train too, but it just doesn't seem worthwhile enough for me otherwise to give up the gravy train for something that will likely pay less and be guaranteed to grind me to the bone.