You can always ask.
Their level of secrecy should tell you how serious they are. If they are too opaque, my advice would be to switch to a mostly cash comp.
Their level of secrecy should tell you how serious they are. If they are too opaque, my advice would be to switch to a mostly cash comp.
How an employer responds to a difficult question that they don't want to say "yes" to will tell you volumes about their skill and demeanor. And if they gladly answer this question, keep pushing until you find one they won't answer.
If someone revokes your offer because you asked a question, you just dodged a HUGE bullet.
I was once in the compensation negotiation phase of an interview. I asked all the root comment questions about equity. They refused to answer any. I was insistent. Their tone changed. They pulled out of negotiation, citing "cultural fit" which I took to mean I was savvy enough to not be suckered.
I don’t think being secretive about the exact details of the cap table is indicative of anything.
They should be able to tell you broadly how many shares there are and how valuable your equity grant is tho.
The vast majority of them fail anyway, and it's a long shot to ask me to trust them not to fuck me over with equity based compensation.
Working in a startup can easily turn into a rough ride - for not much benefit.
So you might just as well start a company of your own.
I disagree completely.
That being said I believe company’s and founders should be as transparent as possible but sometimes that can come at a price and so it’s not ideal to be completely forthcoming.