[seekingcharlie]

You have to understand that a payout (which is very, VERY rare to be worth anything to you) is likely to be years off.

Is it worth being below-market for 5 years for that supposed payout?

[BayAreaSmayArea]

Do people normally lock in that low forever?

We're talking about triggers for going up to an agreed upon market++ salary with next fundraising round, or some significant sales for our product, etc.

[seekingcharlie]

Obviously not forever, but you just have to take into account that a funding round is also likely to be a while off.

It's in your favour that the founders have had startups/exits before (fundraising will be easier) but funding still takes months to close and you still need to ship a product before you even get to that point.

I imagine you'll be hiring other employees too which increases the strain.