The startup may be able to fly under the radar for personal property tax considerations, but in many states if the company owns property in the state then they have to file a personal property tax return, with the proper filing fee, etc. This could get pretty burdensome if the employees are spread out over a few states, to the point where they may just let the employee own the property.

This varies by state, of course, and if all the remote employees are in the same state is probably not a big deal.