[thruhiker]

The vast majority of candidates below the VP level will not be successful in negotiating the exercise window. Certainly not a startup past the seed round.

Also this title is clickbait, no one forced this person to pay anything. Walking away from equity for free is always an option that some people take.

[bspear]

Know several people below VP who negotiated extensions. Never hurts to ask especially if the cash difference can be life-changing