I'm friends with founders of many YC startups (and a number of non-YC startups as well).

If you're a smart founder, you will offer a very good deal to your first N employees. They are by far the most important hires you'll make. Even if you could trick someone into taking too little compensation, you'll regret it in a year when they find out they were snookered.

For the sake of the yc brand if not for anything else, its better to put some numbers out there on what would be a reasonable stake & salary for joining a yc startup as an early employee.

     val (stake,salary) = f( valuation,employeenumber)

     What's a reasonable f ?

Yeah I understand its a hunch wrapped in a gamble floating in a bubble etc...but quasi-phony numbers are still useful.