I'll always liked this idea until trying to map it out myself, and always running aground, preferring performance bonuses instead.

You can't pay bills with equity, you will get paid a smaller salary, you need to be a mature adult to understand what "value can go to zero, and that is the game" entails, you likely will get diluted, your ownership stake isn't large enough to materially change the company, you cannot cash out whenever you want, having equity definitely doesn't make you rich automatically.

Besides, if you are savvy enough to be genuinely motivated by the idea of having equity, just go buy stocks in solid companies.