I learned this in my first board position with VC's on the board (early 2000's). Thankfully I was vital to the company's platform, so had some leverage. But everything was fluid, and able to be changed according to how the VC's needed to present it in terms of a consistently successful investment story.
In the end, I walked away with less than I hoped but more than I think I deserved (for being so naive). But it's been an abject lesson since: nothing in a private company is fixed, it can all be changed according to who pulls the strings. Options and equity are very vulnerable to this. Having equity is no guarantee of power or even a seat at the table (or of future wealth).
In the end, I walked away with less than I hoped but more than I think I deserved (for being so naive). But it's been an abject lesson since: nothing in a private company is fixed, it can all be changed according to who pulls the strings. Options and equity are very vulnerable to this. Having equity is no guarantee of power or even a seat at the table (or of future wealth).