This reads like a Faustian bargain. I've seen this sort of stuff happen over and over to my colleagues, it was worst in the late '90s and early '00s. As much as I wanted to work for a startup once in my life, I learned that the only way to do "startup" is if you are the founder. Practically everyone else is along for the ride.

The US used to have a steady IPO market but that has dried up in recent years. I have read that 2017 might brighten things a bit, but we'll see.