[techiferous]

When I talk about shares/options, I am serious. I am not trying to con you to be a low-paid slave. I want to share our prosperity and success with you when the time comes.

I never take the offer of equity as a con. I see it for what it is: a high-risk investment because the founder does not have enough capital to pay. The main point here is that when the time comes should really be if the time comes.

If you are a founder in this situation, realize what you are asking for is a hybrid worker/investor. And you shouldn't be surprised when this narrows the pool of available workers interested in the opportunity.

[uniquejosh]

I think you make a fair point. Yes, that is true. It is a high-risk investment for other employees, and different people can take different level of risks.

It would not be fair to ask a late thirty person to take the same risk as a early twenty person. People have different financial concerns in different stage of lives.

I think a good founder need to consider that. It is just not right to ask everyone takes the same risk as the founders do.

[nasmorn]

Don't forget that when you eventually go under (or in your case if) some employees will usually stay on past the time when you can actually pay them. It is very hard to fire them because you will cling to the hope you can still make it.

In Austria there is luckily an employee compensation fund for insolvencies that pays out 3 months wages as long as employees claim the money in time. If you don't have that you will (might) be in for an even tougher decision.

Disclaimer: I don't claim your startup will fail with certainty but statistically that is what you are in for, so better think about what you want to do ex ante.

[mst]

The potentially employee should definitely be thinking "if the time comes". But I think a founder should probably be thinking "when the time comes" - being certain of eventual success is a powerful contributor to succeeding so long as it doesn't make you unrealistc about the work required to do so.