> All you’re saying is that in the contemporary context it’s exceedingly foolish to be an employee at an early startup.
As long as naive 22 year olds think have that one friend that stuck around long enough to cash out on an IPO, then yes. On a risk-adjusted basis, this has basically always been the case - you're better off working at FAANG.
I hear this a lot, but most people -- even otherwise-startup people, even if they interview -- don't get to work at a FAANG.
And I think starting now at a FAANG is a lot less lucrative than people seem to think for the average (or even above-average) employee. Certainly nowhere near as lucrative as it was 7-10 years ago or more.
As long as naive 22 year olds think have that one friend that stuck around long enough to cash out on an IPO, then yes. On a risk-adjusted basis, this has basically always been the case - you're better off working at FAANG.