It was always a bad deal. It was supported by urban legends of janitors and cafeteria workers getting seven-figure payouts because they negotiated a few shares

It was always a bad deal. It was supported by urban legends of janitors and cafeteria workers getting seven-figure payouts because they negotiated a few shares of a company that went IPO and went "unicorn". But the reality was, most startup companies failed, and most shares became worthless. In 1995, 2005, 2015, etc. it was the same story. The only thing that changed recently is the "unicorns" stopped happening altogether.