This. The only guaranteed cash is cash in hand. A lot of companies offer it in lieu of salary which is an insane proposition to take. Last place I wasn’t confi

This. The only guaranteed cash is cash in hand. A lot of companies offer it in lieu of salary which is an insane proposition to take. Last place I wasn’t confident of their market position so I negotiated a better salary instead of stock. On acquisition I would have made around 6 months salary which I’d earned 3x more than already with a better salary negotiation and invested it elsewhere. YMMV but “fuck you money” stock and options payments are not the norm on startups.