I always thought that part of the reason early employees got more equity was not only because of the risks involved, but also because early employees usually have to do all sorts of things aside from their regular duties.<p>Not saying this is always the case, but personally I always thought this was part of the reward given.<p>For example, it&#x27;s not the same to be a developer that, even though might contribute a lot, didn&#x27;t have to write the framework from scratch when there are so many unknowns, there a lot of tougher decisions, when things are not as clear and straight forward, responsibility is greater, etc.<p>Of course this depends a lot on the particular startup, but I&#x27;ve seen employees hired to do say, design, end up having to do sales as well, even if they don&#x27;t enjoy it or they don&#x27;t have the skill for it.