Does anybody have experience on making lots of cash through an IPO by being a late employee? Did your pre-IPO "shares" multiply by a big factor through the IPO?
Any advice on joining a startup that could make me lots of cash?
But they all do make you a lot of cash! Just ask the founders or recruiters. And the startups are 'hot' and 'just about to take off' and 'an IPO is on the horizon'.
It's all a bet. The companies you list are established with 100s of employees, internal processes, security badges, onboarding programs and you will have little control over the success. You receive stock options (rarely real stock) as part of a compensation package and if your salary is already good (market rate) then it's likely few options and more like a yearly bonus in other industries. You might be lucky to be able to buy pre-IPO stock with your own money as employee.
Of course I know people who made lots of money with stock (most post IPO though). Add Twitter to your list, one of the hottest pre-IPO startup just a couple of years back: Their stock price is now below the IPO price.
Anyway. Go for it you like the company, their culture, the salary and benefits. Treat stock options as a bet and don't look at new houses until the cash is in the bank account.
Sounds like a losing strategy. Startups don't have a lot of cash to give up. That cash is used for growing the business. If instead you want equity then start your own business and you'll have 100%. There's angel investing. There's IPOs, naturally. There's no magic spell to get you into a startup and get you equity. It all depends on how the founders feel and have implemented rules about said equity.
The best way is to know the founders or be one yourself.
Also read through this thread on making money fast: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10004912
It worked for me. I wouldn't say I made a lot of cash (at least not by come people's standards), but I did well when my company IPO'd.
I joined about three years prior to the IPO when a successful exit was not guaranteed. There were indicators of success though, and I felt confident that there would be a positive outcome.
When I joined, my strike price was in the ~$1 range per share. I was granted my options before a significant stock split, so I multiplied my shares while cutting my strike price significantly.
I'm currently in the lockout period, expiring soon, which means I can't sell any of my shares. They're all exercised and waiting, though, and if I sold today I'd make about $2m. We're not in a high cost of living area, so this could (theoretically) set me up for life with a not-too-modest lifestyle.
I'd do it all again next time in the same way. Certainly a large component of it was luck, but I think joining a company that is at a size where they are still giving out significant stock options to the rank-and-file, while having enough early success that it's easy to see a positive outcome, is the way to go.