If you’ve just been laid off from big tech and have been applying for three months in the current climate you might want to take the insult and hope the startup succeeds in a way that brings you the rewards later. I don’t like it either but that’s where some of my friends are at right now.
If they can find someone good enough at that rate, then why would they pay more?
And if they can't, then they'll just need to discover the market floor by experience.