Of course a start-up is asking you to ask the questions that lead you to a rose-coloured view of their equity. Most start-ups fail and most that do exit make sm

Of course a start-up is asking you to ask the questions that lead you to a rose-coloured view of their equity. Most start-ups fail and most that do exit make small gains after investment capital. It’s possible to get rich by betting on the right unicorn but for the most part you should assume you will get minimal value from your equity and only accept a job offer if it’s attractive enough if the equity goes to zero. Publicly traded companies on the other hand general have equity that somewhat reliably converts to cash. Don’t take roles where so much of your compensation is equity that you have substantial market risk but do expect to get some actual cash from this type of compensation. This disparity makes publicly traded companies more attractive as the chances of you getting $400k when you want it from $200k of salary and $200k of equity is far higher. Start-ups are attractive if they give you additional responsibilities at an early stage of your career or otherwise improve your career trajectory. They are usually bad choices for senior people interested in optimizing earnings.