I cannot tell you the number of times non-technical teams have asked me (technical) to be employee number 1 and then offered a small amount of equity. I bail every singe time - it becomes clear they have 0 understanding of the time commitment on my part, have 0 understanding of the emotional commitment on my part, and 0 understanding of the opportunity cost of taking their offer. If you want people who know their stuff and are committed, you need to offer enough ownership for them to invest themselves.
Exactly! I'm a grad student at a US university, and I get these kind of job offers pretty much every week. They just need me to help code their website.