I've never been able to get sufficient numbers/projections to make an informed decision about stock options at an early stage startup (and often the company doe

I've never been able to get sufficient numbers/projections to make an informed decision about stock options at an early stage startup (and often the company doesn't know either). And it doesn't matter what they offer, it can always be diluted away from you, if not made outright worthless by a change in ownership structure. No matter how much you trust the current management, management can change, and not always for the better, especially as the company grows and there's more money involved. And this is all assuming that the company was successful enough to have value for options -- many won't get that far. Unless you are already in a good financial position, I'd ask for more cash