Articles such as this cry out for more nuance. Founders/early stage employees who depart but leave having installed financial controls, or the risk management infrastructure, or who drove the pivot that moved the company into the market space that made them a success. Or who created and nurtured the culture - all of those things have the potential to provide ongoing value and drive growth. A better approach I think is to provide early equity not based on "you work here forever" but instead a "create the XXX" and you are rewarded. An early investor whose never provides additional capital may see their stake diluted but their share are not clawed back.... Just a thought!