Which is why it would be entirely reasonable for someone who is granted stock as part of compensation to do a full diligence on the company before accepting the terms. Companies deliberately offer options knowing most people simply won't and thats how they get away with it.
I joined a private company a couple of months back. They gave me Options, but they made it clear they were "monopoly money" and gave me no ability to evaluate the value of the options - I accepted the offer EXCLUSIVELY based on the salary
