I've never been a fan of being an employee at an early-stage startup. The options on average have close to zero value, the salaries are lower, and the hours/working conditions are worse [than at generic big company].

So now as a startup founder I'm thinking, why even give my employees options at all? Me and my co-founder are the ones that believe most in the company's upside, so the more shares for us, the better. The plan I've come up with is to 1) try and raise those salaries as best I can to market rates, with the added perks of flexibility, and 2) create a plan for profit sharing in the future.

Profit sharing agreements make more sense to me for a number of reasons. First of all, like equity, its value may never materialize. But secondly, there's actual liquidity and numbers behind it as a possible outcome. Also without the employee stock option pool, I can sell a bit more equity for more cash for better salaries.

What do people think of this idea?