You're not hiring because the average person is looking at salary data on levels.fyi. If you can't compete with the FANG's, if you're Crunchbase rank is six-figures, I don't see a high likelihood of those stock options going anywhere (especially if your startup is a decade old). Anecdotally, >9/10 recruiters and I politely end the discussion when I name my desired total compensation, which is N+20%.