I don't agree with this. Most startups I've worked for paid better than that. Especially after series A. The investors know you have to pay for talent.
There are no IPOs these days so at a typical .5-1% the best outcome for a hired engineer is for the company to get acquired in < 2 years, make about $300K and get a job at the acquiring company that pays 2x they would make if they just went to work there in the first place. Kids who go to Stanford and MIT seem to have this figured out and are expecting to be paid market rates. Your market rate may vary.
The worst places I've worked are the ones where the founders conned all the staff into working for $50-$70K by using extremely optimistic outcomes for demonstrating how much their options might be worth in the future. Which is like 70% of all startups in Silicon Valley.
There are no IPOs these days so at a typical .5-1% the best outcome for a hired engineer is for the company to get acquired in < 2 years, make about $300K and get a job at the acquiring company that pays 2x they would make if they just went to work there in the first place. Kids who go to Stanford and MIT seem to have this figured out and are expecting to be paid market rates. Your market rate may vary.
The worst places I've worked are the ones where the founders conned all the staff into working for $50-$70K by using extremely optimistic outcomes for demonstrating how much their options might be worth in the future. Which is like 70% of all startups in Silicon Valley.