Joined as senior software engineer when the company was under 10 employees and got about 1% (took almost no salary). To be fair I did a massive amount of contributions, so the company got a really good deal in my opinion. I was paid $60k a year for a while, when my market rate could have been easily $300k. I shaped the product and execution in a much more significant way than the founders. These guys are now sitting on mid 9 figures, crazy.

Stayed with that employer for the entire grant and left after about 5 years. The company today is worth a few billion dollars, and that value is based on the latest preferred share price, so obviously it assumes everything goes well and it will sell high enough that the liquidation preferences won’t be exercised and everything will convert to common. It could easily still all go to $0, I don’t count on it much.

The liquid portfolio is instead through boring saving, investing and fairly frugal lifestyle.