True, but you don't have anything a big company doesn't have, or can't have. Therefore, to differentiate yourself from your talent going to FAANG, you need to provide more equity to early employees than what is the status quo. They joined your startup for risk, and your rewards need to match up with that risk. A large company has professional development, a great lifestyle, and mentorship. What they don't have is huge upside if there is a huge exit, and the early employee at a startup needs to capture that.