> The best advice I've seen is to value stock options at zero.

I don't know. I understand that, but on the flip side I got lucky and currently my equity is worth money. In SV equity can make up a large portion of your compensation, it shouldn't be ignored.

Sure, generally equity from a public company is worth more money. But equity at startups can still be valuable. A better conservative approach to startup equity would be to negotiate first for a good base salary and then negotiate for equity. VC-funded startups can pay well.