Everyone’s different but money pays rent in ways equity doesn’t, so especially for more junior people the money is a massive benefit. In practice I think that

Everyone’s different but money pays rent in ways equity doesn’t, so especially for more junior people the money is a massive benefit. In practice I think that motivated people are fine with non-wild salaries, but with early stage stuff it’s way too common to see people try to use equity as a replacement for salary. Your employees stressing out over money will cause them to perform less well.