The idea that an employee does not deserve a major payday for being an early employee at a startup misses the entire point of the practice: by substituting opti

The idea that an employee does not deserve a major payday for being an early employee at a startup misses the entire point of the practice: by substituting options for cash, the employer shifts a quantifiable risk from itself to the employee. Stock options aren't simply an alternative/substitutable form of payment; an employee who takes options at a startup over cash from Google/Apple/etc takes a gamble. By "re-negotiating" the stock options, Zynga pulled the proverbial carpet out from under the employees who stood to lose the most. They were effectively punished for betting well.