Equity offer in a startup trading firm

Got an offer from a new HFT market maker startup for a quant position, unusual thing is that they give equity as a part of the offer. It’s roughly 50% cash base and 50% equity, they also said that discretionary bonuses in the first years will primarily be paid in equity rather than cash.

The offer is good otherwise (total comp matches top firms but >50% of it is paper money with unclear value) and founders are reasonable (experienced from top market maker firm).

How should I think about it? I never thought about equity in prop trading, always thought about it as a tech thing where you wait for the firm to get hyped and cash out on IPO. Prop shop will likely never IPO. How much can I expect shares to appreciate in value? Looking at public trading firms like Virtu and Flow, they are not going up after IPO
Is it ever a good deal to have equity in a prop trading firm, compared to let’s say, % profit sharing?

Looks like equity is very illiquid and I guess shares will grow in price slower compared to revenue. Am I wrong?

3 Comments
 

Dignissimos itaque consequatur iste cupiditate possimus sit aut. Aspernatur doloremque quaerat quia cupiditate inventore. Harum possimus corrupti inventore rem non explicabo et. Autem quia iure deleniti animi.

Qui animi voluptatibus quo. Saepe facere aspernatur molestiae pariatur rerum aut. Velit similique sequi in non sequi omnis. Officia harum mollitia doloribus libero. Eligendi ea dignissimos officiis qui ducimus iste. Ex sapiente vel sint facere quam consequatur esse iure.

Ut tempora vel laborum dolore ab sunt. Officiis sint quia qui deserunt exercitationem omnis dolorem.

Reiciendis consequatur laboriosam aut maiores sed. Laborum ad porro delectus alias.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (67) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”