I think one's perspective on whether it's smart/dumb or right/wrong for founders to seek liquidity "too early" is going to depend a great deal on whether you yo

I think one's perspective on whether it's smart/dumb or right/wrong for founders to seek liquidity "too early" is going to depend a great deal on whether you yourself are "post FU money" or "pre FU money". If you've achieved FU money, meaning you don't really have to worry about money or working a regular job ever again, then it's hard to imagine what an early $100k or $1m liquidity event can mean for another person. And it may not even be the case that the founder wants it for bling-and-hookers reasons: he may want it for health reasons, or to help out family members in some way, where there's not really an option to put it off another 5-10 years. Now add to the equation that founders may very well be underwater on a home mortgage, may have debts racked up, unpaid college loans, etc. and early liquidity, even if it means a smaller potential total payday overall, starts making a lot of sense. Emphasis on potential -- the future is not set in stone. And no deal is real until money hits your bank account.