[dorkitude]

(Full Disclosure: I'm Kyle, the CEO mentioned in the OP)

I actually had this issue bite me in the ass at my first startup, where I was offered a flat # of shares.

I was pretty much fresh out of college, but for the record, I did realize it was important to find out what percentage I was actually getting. When I asked what the total # of shares outstanding was, the company snaked its way out of answering the question directly. The job had a lot of perks (a big title, very respectable pay, work-from-home, greenfield development), so I took the offer rather than press the issue.

Eight months later, we were acquired. I was the only engineer. You could say I was a bit peeved to learn how little of the company I really owned.