Your statement about salary is right. In early funding the founders and employees should get salary bumps that bring them closer to market rates, depending on t

Your statement about salary is right. In early funding the founders and employees should get salary bumps that bring them closer to market rates, depending on the stage of funding. So maybe A&B rounds result in salary bumps. When the company starts being worth something significant, like over $20M valuation, during funding founders should take some money off of the table-- if they want. It's prudent financial planning (don't have all your retirement in the stock of one company) and while they are giving up potential upside they are ensuring long term security for their family against failure of the company combine with an economic downturn. (A combination I've seen twice in my lifetime.) And when your company is in the billions you should have the option to take some off so that you can start angel investing on the side.