I was an early’ish employee and put in 5 years in our startup building many key components. My company just got acquired by one of the big ones in the fortune 100. I made exactly $3236 in options. I hit the lottery right ?

Fab? Good tech?

Common and sad.

Pretty standard. If options were worth anything they wouldn't be handed out to all employees.

<p>Now you know the importance of early equity discussions. It's usually so pie-in-the-sky that people don't take is seriously enough. Fractions of a point can make the difference between $3600 and $36000.</p>

You got a monthly pay check all those years? Then you've got nothing to complain about. The founders probably risked all their savings, those of their family and friends, and took out bank loans, without getting decent pay for the first two to three years. Now you have seen how a successful startup is created, so go found the next one yourself.