Same. My net is the -$200 I spent exercising options in my first startup.

I'm currently on my fourth because it's good experience and I needed a job after being laid off from a larger company. I'm a exec and have a decent amount of options and the company has customers and a path to profitability, but I'm still not counting on those options being worth anything.

Of my previous 3 startups. 2 were acquired and one is still chugging along and making a small profit with no exit plans. Total value of my stock was the aforementioned negative number.

Join startups for the experience, not for the paper money.