[gnicholas]

Sounds like they raised tens of millions and had only $10M or so in the bank. Assuming the sale price wasn't in the tens of millions or greater, no common shareholders would have received anything.

> How can a regular employee joining a startup know beforehand that there isn't a high chance of their equity (which is probably a significant part of their total comp) being worthless even if a big acquisition is made?

Ask to see the cap table to understand what the company would have to be sold for in order for your shares to be worth anything.