[balls2you]

no equity %. The savvy CFOs will not tell you what your percentage equity actually is. this allows the CEO/top brass to dilute the pool by issuing millions of options before the sale of the company to a buyer. Since I didnt work for a startup that went IPO, $ haul was 0. i didn't exercise the options, they felt useless compared to the effort I put in.

EDIT: also as a traditional employee (in my case developer), you will not be aware that your company is being readied for sale to another before it actually happens. Only, if you're a very tiny company like 10 folks maybe you can know. Otherwise a startup that grows from 10 to 100 or more, then forget it.

To clarify I was an early employee after a funding round and not before. Those who are employees before any funding round are basically "founders" and can get some sort of decent payout.

[kzhahou]

You should have known (should have asked, they should have told you) the percent. That should not be secret, at any size company. Too bad.

[balls2you]

You don't think we did ? That's just silly to even think that employees who are more emotionally vested in a startup will forget to ask what their equity is. They don't tell you. That's the norm. Consider yourself lucky if you are told what your equity is worth. And it will be diluted to nothing regardless.

[LunaSea]

Why would you even join or stay at a startup who's not prepared to give you the real % figure ?