False dichotomy. People join startups (esp. early ones) thinking they have a shot at a significant chunk. But even for the very first employees, the equity numbers are ridiculously small. I don't understand why they sign up for it.

All my friends in startups work damn hard and poured huge chunks of their lives into it, and it has not been fun watching them be offered meager positions post-acquisition, while their founder/CEOs get multi-million paydays.