Regardless of whether it is ethical or not, you’re going to waste a lot of time trying to get people who will actually do it. If your startup idea is super hot

Regardless of whether it is ethical or not, you’re going to waste a lot of time trying to get people who will actually do it. If your startup idea is super hot, you might find people who ask for more equity and less cash, but good luck finding good people who have enough discretionary time to work in your idea for equity only. I tried for a couple years and it didn’t really work. When I finally had a little money, I was able to hire good people at a significantly reduced rate when they were both freelancers and friends, usually when they were between bigger projects, and not one of them wanted equity even when offered. Even my employees didn’t want equity, mostly because they didn’t understand it.