I've only been in situations where pay-cuts were offered a couple of times. In both cases equity was offered. In the more recent case, equity was offered with instant vesting, and there was a commitment to repay the deducted pay in full after the situation (short-term cache flow issues due to delays with fundraising) had ended.
The 2nd case was obviously a better deal, the only risk to me was that the fundraising would fail completely. If they're not offering you any kind of upside, you need to push back.
The 2nd case was obviously a better deal, the only risk to me was that the fundraising would fail completely. If they're not offering you any kind of upside, you need to push back.