The OP's question was about how to do that and my entire response was to that question.
> Assume options are worthless.
That's bad advise for senior engineers with relevant experience. No startup I know can afford to offer cash compensation that matches the cash+stock comp from previous employment. Startup stocks have value – you just have to get better at figuring out its risk adjusted value and consider it for that worth.
Without having done any accounting I'd be willing to bet that the vast majority of startup options end-up being worthless. This is a simple logical conclusion from the fact that most businesses fail. So, no, I disagree, don't work for less than you are worth and, yes, assume startup options are worthless.
What ends-up happening is that the sexy startup culture sucks in young people with little life experience who haven't seen enough to be skeptical enough about these things. And, yes, under that context, if things go wrong, the end result is that they feel used and abused. You never hear complaints from anyone who worked super hard at a successful startup that made it and the early employees did very well.
The OP's question was about how to do that and my entire response was to that question.
> Assume options are worthless.
That's bad advise for senior engineers with relevant experience. No startup I know can afford to offer cash compensation that matches the cash+stock comp from previous employment. Startup stocks have value – you just have to get better at figuring out its risk adjusted value and consider it for that worth.