[ampersandy]

> The value of the cumulative labour of Mailchimp's engineers is $12 billion which vastly exceeds the amount it was sold for.

Yes, that's how employment works. Companies do not pay you exactly the same $$ you generate, that's just common sense? Why would they employ you if you cost just as much profit as you generate?

The question here is whether Mailchimp _exploited_ its employees by not offering equity. Unless an employee was lied to and told they might later receive equity, they all joined under the assumption that they were making a mutually beneficial agreement, and that the compensation offered by Mailchimp was worthwhile (as opposed to going and starting their own company or working for another startup that offered equity).

Every Mailchimp employee was welcome to start their own company if they wanted to capture 100% of the profits they generated.

[bjourne]

> The question here is whether Mailchimp _exploited_ its employees by not offering equity.

No. The question is whether Mailchimp's employees would have worked for Mailchimp had they had a completely free choice and good knowledge of the value of their labour (e.g. valuation of the company).