There's only big money in meaningful ownership, which is not afforded to startup employees who are merely workers with a pittance of low liquidation preference

There's only big money in meaningful ownership, which is not afforded to startup employees who are merely workers with a pittance of low liquidation preference shares far down on the cap table. And the TC "startup haircut" is a reality distortion field that makes me avoid 99.998% of startups in an employment arrangement because they want something for nothing in addition to being unlikely to survive. The truth is startups must compete with FAANG and other businesses for talent.