All good reasons. But an engineer/employee considering moving from a stable publicly traded company to a startup is justified in asking for the data.
I am evaluating options now and one of the reasons I am not so keen on offers from startups (even ones with multiple series of funding) is that they expect me to take the risk without sharing adequate information.
Employees have valid reasons to ask, just explaining why it is not common to get a good clear answer from founders . Not saying it is justified .
Having said that, if risk is a major concern most startups are not the perhapsright place to work. They are designed to fail quickly than become unsuccessful or low growth businesses, employees or founders do get short end of the stick frequently.
Risk appetite for each person is different. For anyone considering a start up an assessment of the degree of risk and rewards is essential. So if a startup does not offer me enough information to make that decision I will pass on the offer.
I am evaluating options now and one of the reasons I am not so keen on offers from startups (even ones with multiple series of funding) is that they expect me to take the risk without sharing adequate information.