The absolute value of the startup when the founders and investors get involved (literally, founding the startup and investing in it) is often 1-2 orders of magnitude less than the value of the startup when the first employee is hired. So an employee may get 1/100th the equity of a founder, but still get more on an absolute basis.
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The absolute value of the startup when the founders and investors get involved (literally, founding the startup and investing in it) is often 1-2 orders of magnitude less than the value of the startup when the first employee is hired. So an employee may get 1/100th the equity of a founder, but still get more on an absolute basis.