Over the next few months, while the company size went from 6 to 20, and the board were organising the stock options scheme, I was still highly motivated by the favourable options which had yet to be sorted out. A year in, and I was given a very very small fraction of the 11% option pool, which would amount to less than 0.1% of the total shares, which was also subject to dilution. At this point I had all of the speculation previously made by my superiors denied, my importance to the company was downgraded, and I struggled to negotiate a raise in salary that would bring me up to what I'd call an average salary.
This whole procedure was very demoralising, I would have been happy with no options and a decent salary to start with, and all of the speculation of how many billions the company would get acquired for in a years' time would not have bothered me in the slightest. After all, we had no customers, had not launched a product, and I was a key developer. Needless to say I left shortly after to start my own company.
When I left, they offered to 'do something' about the options and give me the raise I wanted, but at that point for me the damage had been done, and I no longer had the ambition to work there. I didn't execute any of the options that had already vested, and used this £300 to start my business.
From my own experience and speaking with a lot of other startup employees in the UK, I believe we care more about the starting salary, and absolutely have to treat options as a bonus. Not only because of the dampened IPO/acquisition outlook in Europe, which i think many startup employees are unaware of, but because startups are a smaller part of our economy. In London for example, 'Tech City' is right next to THE city, where my friends work. You've got guys earning nothing at a startup, working and meeting for drinks, and living with friends who work at banks down the road. I would imagine the US startup scene feels much more like a microcosm, and because we are yet to have that level of separation in culture and circles we socialise in, the difference in lifestyle a salary gives you is a lot more noticeable.
I regret not adapting this mentality from the start, and when we hire our first employee, I will certainly make sure the reason they are taking the job is not the millions they are guaranteed to make in a few years' time.