A VC funded company isn't necessarily going to pay out anything. Startups fail all the time. VC-backed ones even more often because they need to secure rounds of funding over and over - not to mention your equity being diluted over and over when they do.

When you consider company equity to be a nest egg but don't actually have any control over whether it'll be a success or not you're making a bet. I don't blame anyone who isn't interested in that game.