This is a Marxist labor theory of value argument, disregarding market forces. For a different supply-demand function, labor could get paid far more than investors (imagine a 0 interest rate environment while inflation is happening.)

Well, sort of. There's an argument to be made that people should realize how much better a deal VCs are getting and stop settling for worse ROI. Part of the problem is exactly that supply is high, possibly because of a lack of knowledge/negotiation leverage.

Labor supply is high because it is forced to be high, in a way that capital supply is not. Investors can stop investing and simply live on their hoards, or even a tiny fraction of their hoards. Laborers cannot stop laboring and do the same.

That explanation seems off? (Anyone who has enough to live off of can just do that, witholding both their capital and their labor.)

But anyway I meant supply of labor for startups specifically. Like, people are too willing to forgo FAANG comp for low equity numbers at startups.

Yet investors have made a fortune over the last year while there’s interest rates below inflation.