[trhway]

>In retrospect it sounds obvious that if the company sells for less than the money the investors put in, your x percent is worth nothing.

that is what i've been wondering about. If going into startup i take a $50K/year salary hit wouldn't it mean that i'm actually investing $50K/year and thus should get the same quality and price of shares (not options) what the early investors do?

[pyrrhotech]

what should happen and what happens legally are two different things. though it's your choice to take that risk, no one is forcing you to work for sub market rates.