Sounds like they raised tens of millions and had only $10M or so in the bank. Assuming the sale price wasn't in the tens of millions or greater, no common share

Sounds like they raised tens of millions and had only $10M or so in the bank. Assuming the sale price wasn't in the tens of millions or greater, no common shareholders would have received anything. > How can a regular employee joining a startup know beforehand that there isn't a high chance of their equity (which is probably a significant part of their total comp) being worthless even if a big acquisition is made? Ask to see the cap table to understand what the company would have to be sold for in order for your shares to be worth anything.