The whole point of equity from a startup&#x27;s perspective is to save on cash when you&#x27;re small, so why would you get equity if it won&#x27;t replace salary?<p>Yes I&#x27;m aware of things like restricted stock units. But you shouldn&#x27;t really think of them as the same thing as private startup stock. Just like small-cap stocks need different strategies from large-cap, or stocks from bonds. You don&#x27;t want to assess one category by the standards of another.<p>Salary and stock are separate categories, sure, but choosing an employer is nothing <i>but</i> an exercise in comparing apples and oranges anyway. You have to decide how much liquid cash you need for rent or a down-payment on a house. Once you account for such scenarios the rest is just an investment riding into the future one way or another. Past that point things get fungible.<p>It sounds like the bad experience you had may not have had enough cash to cover liquidity needs. The founder should have just expressed regret that they can&#x27;t afford the salary a larger place can. It&#x27;s another common mistake startups make: assuming (in the course of a hard sell) that there is one rational choice for everyone regardless of their circumstances.