No, because the company I work for has already IPO'd. I can turn around and sell my shares for cash on the market right now. The companies that are offering me

No, because the company I work for has already IPO'd. I can turn around and sell my shares for cash on the market right now. The companies that are offering me jobs with lower salary and equity are not public, have no viable exit strategy in the near future, and therefore their equity is virtually worthless. There's a potential that it will be worth the equity at my current company, but the likelihood of that is low. That makes the risk high, so in order for me to justify leaving my currently vesting/cashable stock on the table, you have to offer me something I can't get right now, whether that's a higher salary, more equity, or something else. It's not entirely a money issue. If I really, really believe in your company or I really, really hate my current job, I could more easily be persuaded to leave my current job. I'm fairly content where I am, though, so that's hard.