[brandon272]

Your post in and of itself is why your employee wants to found a startup. Instead of sitting down directly with him and saying, "What will it take to keep you here?" and listening to the nitty gritty of what he wants for himself, which would totally make your post here unncessary, you are posting here, trying to convince everyone bullet by bullet why corporate life is the shiz and looking for someone to hand you some magical answer that you can whisper in his ear to get him to continue working for you.

Look at it this way; people don't leave companies when they:

a) Have a vested interest in staying (they share in the rewards) b) They believe in the company's vision. c) They believe the company is run by competent individuals who can execute that vision.