I encountered this myself and have a few conclusions:
1) Be open with them and tell them that without a cap table you have to assume the options are worth $0. Use that to push for more salary.
2) The reason for not disclosing that information is often that the company is close to another fundraising event (an IPO for example) and that is very confidential information. It's definitely not a bad thing.
3) A safe assumption (to use yourself, not in negotiations) is that the company will exit at around $10/share. There might be a reverse split or something so take this assumption with a grain of salt.
My experience was not that the company was being malicious. I joined and it worked out fairly well.
2) You are incorrect here. # of outstanding shares isn't a secret in the events you describe.
3) This is not a safe assumption at all. Just because it worked well for you in one situation does not mean that it will work out in all scenarios.
The reason that companies sometimes don't disclose this information is that when you state ownership as a % it can seem minuscule emotionally. Anything less than 1% just doesn't seem like much even if it actually it.
That being said I don't think this is a good enough reason. Companies should disclose this information and then educate candidates about how to interpret the numbers.
And what do I do if they use #2? Are you saying it's reasonable for them to not give me that information? Should I assume they're worth $0 in this situation?
1) Be open with them and tell them that without a cap table you have to assume the options are worth $0. Use that to push for more salary.
2) The reason for not disclosing that information is often that the company is close to another fundraising event (an IPO for example) and that is very confidential information. It's definitely not a bad thing.
3) A safe assumption (to use yourself, not in negotiations) is that the company will exit at around $10/share. There might be a reverse split or something so take this assumption with a grain of salt.
My experience was not that the company was being malicious. I joined and it worked out fairly well.