Startup equity is a lottery ticket masking poverty wages
This hill is unclaimed. Nobody is willing to die on it. Yet. First blood pending.
- Pay, and you hold it.
- Anyone can dethrone you for more.
- Every claim stays on the record.
No claims on the record.
The other side
Equity vests over four years against a strike price set while the company is still small. Later rounds and acquisitions reprice that stock, and employees sell in secondaries long before any public listing. Funded startups pay near market cash, with a gap measured in a few thousand dollars. Scope compounds fast. A senior title and real ownership of a product arrive years earlier than they would at a bank.
Tell me when this hill changes hands.
One email per change of hands. Unsubscribe link in every one.
Adjacent hills to die on
Commute time should count as paid work hours
Any job doable remotely can be done overseas for less
Pay should rise with inflation automatically, no negotiation required
Degree requirements for entry-level jobs are classist gatekeeping
Overtime culture is poor management, not dedication
A resume should never exceed one page
More work hills, all of them, or find one worth $1 of your convictions.