There's some similarities, but it's still a job paying you wages (unless you're only working for equity), so it's not anywhere near as bad as actual pyramid sch

There's some similarities, but it's still a job paying you wages (unless you're only working for equity), so it's not anywhere near as bad as actual pyramid schemes, which often require a monetary buy-in from you in order to pay people directly up the chain (as well as the sales you make). You just have to evaluate the startup based on their offer (heavily weigh the compensation, benefits, and learning opportunities, but don't weight the equity too much, imo), where they're at (series A/B/C, burn rate, other factors) and see if it's worth it to you to take a chance on the job.