> certain people always get money whenever someone else does work

The people who did work were paid by the investors for almost 7 years now (Lyft was founded in June 2012 and is unprofitable to this day), along with some equity.

If Lyft were to fail this year rather than IPO, the employees would walk away with 7 years of great salary and 7 years less of their working life. The investors would walk away with their money gone and wasted.