Employee options must be granted with a strike price at the current fair market value, which means they aren't worth anything the day they are granted. For priv

Employee options must be granted with a strike price at the current fair market value, which means they aren't worth anything the day they are granted. For private companies, that fair market value is decided by the board, who may be incentivized to show steady growth when there is none. There will also be preferred stock held by investors, so you still won't make money on a liquidation above the strike price. And if you quit, you lose your options or have to immediately buy a risky stake in a startup. Options really aren't worth much unless the company becomes many times more valuable after the grant, and that's so unlikely to work out for the average employee that it may as well be $0.