In essence, they believe in the mission of the company so much that they are willing to sacrifice their mission for themselves. In a SV scale-to-the-moon start

In essence, they believe in the mission of the company so much that they are willing to sacrifice their mission for themselves. In a SV scale-to-the-moon startup, you hire cult members, not employees. You want them to work for minimum wage and equity only. Sometimes that means hiring people who are naive but can be manipulated in the right directions versus experienced people who have done it all before.