My experience is that there are some &quot;weird&quot; effects of equity comp once one gets into the calculus of incentives:<p>1. Payoffs are too small to be consequential. If you own 0.01% of a company and are personal-profit-maximizing, then you are indifferent between (a.) Increasing the company&#x27;s valuation by $1M and (b.) Getting $100.<p>2. Growth makes &quot;rest and vest&quot; a reasonable strategy. If a startup does well, then an employee&#x27;s initial equity grant typically dwarfs all subsequent compensation; does it make sense to work hard for a $5k raise when your equity is worth $500k?