Nobody I know of gives any significant amounts of stock away since in many cases options are better. Some startups will ask early developers to take some of th

Nobody I know of gives any significant amounts of stock away since in many cases options are better. Some startups will ask early developers to take some of their pay in stock, which can be a good deal if they get preferred shares (the same as any significant investor would). It makes no sense to take pay in common stock since (unlike holders of preferred shares) you'll lose it all if the startup fails.