Fair enough I understand that. I think there's a difference between founders sacrificing their time and money on something that can fail easily and an employee

Fair enough I understand that. I think there's a difference between founders sacrificing their time and money on something that can fail easily and an employee who makes a little less than market salary (and works hard). It doesn't have to be a startup for you to work crazy hours or be personally invested. But there are many situations in between the extremes that make it seem unfair for early employees not to share in the potential spoils.