Great points. I don't know about the 90s, but in this era, you either want founder-level equity or market salaries. There's too much uncertainty about the outcome, too many circumstances that can affect it, and too long a time window in which these circumstances can play out, for anything else.

Time is an important factor here, more for employees than, say, investors because you don't have a portfolio of multiple lives. Several years of your life count for a lot; be clear-eyed about where they're going.