In cases where the founder has started other companies before or the current company has been around for a while, you can (and should) ask former employees of the company how the founder and the work environment are. This saved me a ton of grief when I took my first job. A very helpful former employee told me all about the company and told me which group to join (I had some choice in the matter).
Sure, there is no guarantee this won't change, but there is no reason to believe you can't vet for founder or team quality at least initially.
And if/when the dynamic changes, quit. It is true that as an employee in a startup you don't usually have much control over how much you make from your options. But you do always have a choice - whether to continue working there or quit.
Sure, there is no guarantee this won't change, but there is no reason to believe you can't vet for founder or team quality at least initially.
And if/when the dynamic changes, quit. It is true that as an employee in a startup you don't usually have much control over how much you make from your options. But you do always have a choice - whether to continue working there or quit.