I agree with most of what you're saying but you can easily deal with your second issue by contacting former employees and former co-workers of people working fo

I agree with most of what you're saying but you can easily deal with your second issue by contacting former employees and former co-workers of people working for the startup via linkedin. Many people feel this is a bit stalkerish but if I'm asked to provide personal references to a future employer I'm going to seek out personal references for the people I will be working with as well.