There is a difference between having a large impact on the company's product and it's overall success versus getting properly compensated for your efforts.
It's always possible to try to do great work and to push the company in a great direction. That's great, and yes people like this are great to work with. However, stock options are nearly always structured to keep money away from employees rather than rewarding them. Some of the structure is due to the tax laws, but plenty of it is due to the terms companies set for their stock options.
It's always possible to try to do great work and to push the company in a great direction. That's great, and yes people like this are great to work with. However, stock options are nearly always structured to keep money away from employees rather than rewarding them. Some of the structure is due to the tax laws, but plenty of it is due to the terms companies set for their stock options.
You seem to be confusing these two things.