Do developers need to start being even more selective about working for these kinds of companies? Venture capitalists love software because the risk is astronomically low compared to other industries; is it more troubling that there are programmers that are willing to be underpaid, overworked, and screwed out of equity in the long run? Also, anytime someone has made an attempt to over-work me, I shut down and ignore them until I feel productive again (I'm a university student, so I think sometimes employers assume I am "really grateful to be getting paid anything," while ignoring my time preference and investment in education and work experience. I fear that trying to manage my employers expectations will simply be an excuse for them to hire someone else (assuming ability and credentials are the same).