> an equity package which is simple and standardized enough to be comprehensible by ordinary humans
> deceptive equity packages
What do you mean by "deceptive"? The standard for pre-IPO seems to me to be N number of options, at a particular strike price, 10-year expiration (or 90 days if you leave the company). That doesn't seem all that complicated to me, or deceptive.
What can get deceptive is if the company is trying to lowball you on salary and tell you that your equity will become worth millions some day as if it was a sure thing, which is of course a scummy practice. And the whole expiration after 90 days thing is garbage. But deceptive? Complicated? I don't think it is.
I really don't see what's not simple or standardized about what I described above. Granted, the last time I joined a startup (which is not a startup anymore) was 9 years ago, but I haven't read anything to suggest that this has changed drastically.
> deceptive equity packages
What do you mean by "deceptive"? The standard for pre-IPO seems to me to be N number of options, at a particular strike price, 10-year expiration (or 90 days if you leave the company). That doesn't seem all that complicated to me, or deceptive.
What can get deceptive is if the company is trying to lowball you on salary and tell you that your equity will become worth millions some day as if it was a sure thing, which is of course a scummy practice. And the whole expiration after 90 days thing is garbage. But deceptive? Complicated? I don't think it is.
I really don't see what's not simple or standardized about what I described above. Granted, the last time I joined a startup (which is not a startup anymore) was 9 years ago, but I haven't read anything to suggest that this has changed drastically.