I trust these guys since I've worked with them for a few years in another company. I understand that being a founder means that I have to be more involved in big decisions, but I don't see how being founders get access to profits that are not available to employees. Are profits not shared amongst shareholders equally?
Also, why do you believe shares and options are worthless? Isn't that what's worth something when company grows later?
But I have been a contractor for too long, so my worldview is influenced by that. If you really believe in the company, and want to save it money, then go ahead. And it does depend on the company - I interviewed with a decent company in Cambridge that had an interesting way of compensating the IT staff, in terms of money versus options/equity and overall, it seemed like a well run company with founders who were decent people. The company I worked for, and others I ran into during the first Internet bubble, were run by horrible people out to exploit everyone below them. So it depends on many factors, but if I wasn't 110% sure of the success of the company, I'd prefer money.
Of course not.