This never made sense to me. The bigger the company, the less valuable the options or stock are (because the value is known - you might as well take an equivalent amount of cash, because the upside is capped). On the other hand, at a tiny company where the options are worthless, you can get way more options more easily. You can actually negotiate for points of the total ownership of the company. Can you ask for 0.01% of Google if you interview there?
If you don't want risk, why would you work at a startup? If you aren't betting on a big exit, why wouldn't you just work at a company like Google or Facebook where your total (guaranteed, risk free) compensation would be far greater?
At my last startup I negotiated for a lower salary and as much equity as I could get, and I asked for more equity with every promotion. Those were the best decisions I ever made. I want to work at a startup because I want more risk, not less.
If you don't want risk, why would you work at a startup? If you aren't betting on a big exit, why wouldn't you just work at a company like Google or Facebook where your total (guaranteed, risk free) compensation would be far greater?
At my last startup I negotiated for a lower salary and as much equity as I could get, and I asked for more equity with every promotion. Those were the best decisions I ever made. I want to work at a startup because I want more risk, not less.