[secorp]

Startup pros:

* great people, unique culture

* influence a wide range of issues from tech to office location

* great experience for founding a company later

Note that I didn't include "huge potential financial gain" in that list. A non-founder at a startup really has to value the experience because most likely there won't be a huge financial win. That doesn't mean that you shouldn't try to negotiate a fair compensation package, but really you are using the opportunity to gain skills and experience to use when founding your own company where you will have more ownership and potential financial gain. If you don't believe that the founders take more risk than the employees now, you will once you found your own company :)

If financial gain is your main goal, you may want to take a serious look at getting into the financing side. This will take a different approach, but good analytical skills plus good networking skills are in high demand. Alternatively, you could go down a more corporate path and aim for senior management at a good firm. I'm not necessarily recommending these paths, but it's worth exploring the alternatives so that you can really appreciate the (in my opinion) extraordinary benefits and privileges of working at a startup.