[arbitrage314]

If you're going to work at a startup, ask for two things:

1. No employee equity whatsoever, but a slightly higher salary to make up for it 2. The ability to invest in the the next round

I've worked at a startup and done #1 and #2 above, and it's working out great. I'm very happy to be owning preferred shares.

[startupnoub]

arbitrage314:

Aren't you just lowering your risk, while simultaneously lowering your reward?

Eg, let's say you negotiate a 20k/year increase by not getting any stock options. If you spend that 20k to invest in their next round, you'll be paying for preferred shares, rather than common shares. Therefore, you'll be able to afford about 5x less shares than if you were exercising employee grants. Am I wrong?

Sure, you'll get preferred shares, but if the company does very well, your ultimate reward will be less.

[msoad]

That's a very interesting approach!