> (I'd work my ass off without options, but the options really make it easy to say "I will do everything in my power to make this succeed" instead of "I'd rathe

> (I'd work my ass off without options, but the options really make it easy to say "I will do everything in my power to make this succeed" instead of "I'd rather go spend time with my friends tonight"). that implies that it is somehow better to work 24/7, when in fact often you get your best ideas when you are away from work, with friends, working out and so on, all things that are just as important to remain fresh and not burn out. Considering that until you exit you can't know how much your options are worth (due to valuation, dilution, quarter results during the lockdown period after going public, etc. etc. etc.) to me options are worth $0 and do not come into play at all when evaluating a job at a company. From my perspective it's all about what I'd be working on and with: is it something I believe in? is it something that has a chance of success? is it something I would see myself happy to work on every day? are the people I would work with people I can mesh well with? All of those are a lot more important than a lottery ticket. Another thing you might want to consider on the hiring side is that paying way below market salaries and offering options instead you are likely to attract employees that find that agreeable, which might or might not be who would help you be successful: sometimes it might be better hiring a single experienced developer at market than 2 less experienced ones that are willing to work for cheap, especially towards the beginning when it comes to making architectural decisions that might stick around for a long time and come back to bite you later.