[stanleydrew]

I would humbly suggest that you might not understand equity. Equity is a right to future cashflow that the company will generate (aka dividends), as well as a claim on company assets after all debts are paid off.

If the company builds valuable assets or generates a lot of cash, then equity is valuable. The company might be able to "get bought out or go public" as a result, but if not you still have a claim on future cashflow and company assets. Most companies don't go public but many of those do pay dividends to equity holders.

Anyway my only real advice is to find out how the founders are compensating themselves. That will tell you a lot about where they think value creation and capture will accrue in the long run.