“Withheld”? Lol, no. That sounds nefarious. It wasn’t. The founders wanted to retain ownership. That’s their right. It appears employees were paid fair market

“Withheld”? Lol, no. That sounds nefarious. It wasn’t. The founders wanted to retain ownership. That’s their right. It appears employees were paid fair market wages for work. The inverse would actually be evil. Imagine being granted equity and a below market wage in a company that the founder never sold.