Yes unfortunately situations like that are fairly commonplace, but that doesn't mean there's anything fair/legal/proper about them. I try not to take offense w

Yes unfortunately situations like that are fairly commonplace, but that doesn't mean there's anything fair/legal/proper about them. I try not to take offense when someone makes me such an offer; I just lose all confidence in their abilities. If you can't even raise/hustle/scrounge-up enough cash to meet the legal minimum wage it's hard to have faith in your abilities as a CEO. I have no problem with the idea of taking a drastic pay-cut for a startup you believe in, but there's a limit to how far your generosity should extend.