Corporations as a whole are a financial vehicle to shift value created by employees to executives and investors. Being an early stage employee in a startup wit

Corporations as a whole are a financial vehicle to shift value created by employees to executives and investors. Being an early stage employee in a startup with significant equity means betting that your employer will eventually grow and you'll be somebody receiving the value rather than somebody creating it. That's how you reach the upper class in a capitalist economy and startups have successfully accomplished that for many founders and early stage employees.