I assume you are referring to start-ups.
I worked for a 3 billion dollar bank that had a small bored staff, and an tiny 2 person legal department. We got bonuses every year, and extra bonuses when the profits were high. Our staff was about 50 % the size of a regular bank that size. It was a nice place to work, with awesome healthcare benefits, good coworkers, and nice facilities (think marble lobbies, first of it’s kind energy efficient branch office, etc. When the owner sold the bank he gave millions of dollars from his sale to the staff (even the janitors). Yes, it was an exception, and not the rule.
Once the owner left, the place pretty much fell apart, however.
