Yeah, the gamble only pays off for a company that has a growth so strong, and a plan so safe that the downside is quite low. They have to give you more options because they know they are worse than RSUs, so the pay really can end up being higher than FAANG, but still with some gambling involved. Those companies exist (See, Stripe 10 years ago), but there are so few of those, it's harder to find them than just go to FAANG.