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At the end of the day it is a lot harder to come up with an idea, find market traction, convince people to invest in you than it is to become the third employee.

Additionally, a 100M exit isn't always a win. It depends on how much money was invested / spent to get there as well.

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I agree; founders should have substantially more equity than any one early employee. But its not just about which is harder to start as (founder or early employee), but also the time/energy/emotion invested over years to bring the company to a successful scenario. Being a third employee is still pretty hard if you are working 60-80hrs/week for years and making major life sacrifices.

And you're right; $100M exit isn't always a win. That was a somewhat arbitrary milestone I used to do quick math.

Hard work unfortunately only has marginal value in this economy. The real money is in being able to get other people to invest in you. The idea even matters less than your ability to convince investors.

Startup employees are often quite screwed from a promises made perspective.

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