Equity has no intrinsic value and I&#x27;m glad you recognize you can&#x27;t pay rent with it. Founders who try to claim otherwise are being deceptive and I wouldn&#x27;t work for them either. Much worse if you get insulted and called an idiot for trying to negotiate.<p>However, equity is a significant form of compensation, not just at startups, but at large companies as well. You&#x27;re missing out if you don&#x27;t take some time to understand it in early stage startups.