rwk, with respect,
whether compensating the founders (effectively speaking) of a developing cash-poor cash-flow-awful company with cash instead equity is irrational, is strictly a matter of opinion and no amount of statistics or bluster calling for such will amend that, statistically speaking that is.
I welcome a sound statistical argument supporting any notion that SKS and Feeney (e.g.) would have walked had compensation been handled more, uh, rationally.
The above content is my opinion.