I'm not quite sure about the common stock and other aspects of a startup.
Valuation, paper money $, ARR, growth past and projected, exit - all important
Startups appreciate you and your work more than big companies IMO. So if you like a small place where everyone knows you and appreciates your work you may like it.
Terrible advice. If you are joining a startup, you should join the absolutely highest quality startup you can get into. For those companies the options are worth a lot and there are even secondary markets. Optimize for quality of company as 1, 2, 3. If your assessment is that the value of options is zero, then you should stay at big co.
You're not accounting for risk of getting diluted into oblivion and sneaky financial restructuring