&quot;And now, in part because of your success, it’s too expensive to own what you had worked hard to vest? Ridiculous.&quot;<p>I think people expect too much. Companies don&#x27;t owe their employees anything. They are businesses which aim to make money and&#x2F;or to accomplish some goal, but that goal is almost always not &quot;make your employees happy and wealthy&quot;.<p>You may work your ass off, but if you do, do it because it is the right thing to do and you want to do it. If you do that, you&#x27;ll never be disappointed unless you let yourself down. Don&#x27;t do it because of options.<p>If you do take options, because you have to or just want to, you are gambling. You might be able to keep the upper-hand if you know what you are doing, but even owners&#x2F;partners get screwed sometimes (often).