Yeah, something to consider is that FAANG salaries are an outlier. There is a bimodal distribution in tech salaries. Outside of tier 1 unicorns, no one comes cl

Yeah, something to consider is that FAANG salaries are an outlier. There is a bimodal distribution in tech salaries. Outside of tier 1 unicorns, no one comes close to FAANG salary. So when evaluating your options, using FAANG salaries as a comparison might not be the most fair benchmark. For example if you work in biotech, even as a programmer, you are probably looking at a salary about half of what a FAANG will pay. This holds true for a lot of other industries. In general, I agree though. Early employees should either be compensated better or given more equity. In many cases, they have a more direct influence on the product than the founders, because the founders are focused on fundraising, sales, and hiring. And they also can have an outsized impact on company culture. If it was up to me, the first few hires would be getting 2-5% depending on experience, and I would even consider giving them a title of co-founder.