Employee Equity
I wish there existed exit strategies other than IPO and being bought.At the rate at which tech-giants are buying tech-startups, we'll end up with very few, very large tech conglomerates. I'm not sure how efficiently things run in these giant companies. More managers = more trouble and less autonomy for the lower levels of the pyramid. Central management and the pyramid are almost like communism, and we know how well that turned out...Why can't a mid-sized profitable company pay out dividends to stock-holders?
Say growth mode for the first 5 years to reach profitability, then start cutting cheques to founders, early employees,  and first-round investors. I know losing cash will probably hurt the company momentarily, and stunt the growth of the business, but then you start a second round with a new pool of employee stock and new investors come it to do another 5 years.Basically, he/she who wants to, can smooth-exit after 5, 10, or 15 years, while keeping the same company envelope, mission, and mid-sized company culture throughout the company's life.  I guess this would work only for //very// profitable companies that end up with lots of cash in the bank, but if you haven't build a profitable company after 10 years what's the point?