3 times I have worked for a small company that had a liquidity event, as an early employee. That already makes me incredibly lucky, that those companies didn't sink without trace. In each case, my stock was worth between 3-6 months of my then salary. Which was a nice chunk o'change to be sure, but not FU money, not by a long shot.

Now I work for big companies for a good salary. I put in the hours to get the work done, but I'll never do 80+ hour weeks again unless I own a ton of equity in the venture.

The truth is that startups, like the music biz, like video games, like PR require a steady stream of young people with unrealistic ideas who can be exploited. Don't let yourself be played, is my advice now to young engineers. Especially don't take career advice from a VC or a founder...