When a startup gets acquired for $763 million – as social games maker Playdom was by Disney last month – people outside the company tend to assume that everybody inside the company got rich.

But that’s not usually the case.

At Playdom, for example, not everyone who joined got equity. Many Playdom employees – as many as 80% of them – had been there for less than year and their options hadn’t vested yet. Some of those who had been there for a while probably made less than they thought they would because their stakes were diluted by subsequent fund-raising.

While one reliable source close to the company tells us most employees are very happy with the deal – and that Disney is offering rentention bonuses to key employees – another source close to Playdom engineers tells us “only the execs at Playdom made money” and that “even really good senior engineers got squat.”

Now, a few unhappy engineers don’t make up a good sample of Playdom employees, but there are a few things startup employees can do to make sure they’re in for a big payday when their startup gets acquired for almost a billion dollars.

• Always find out the percentage of your equity stake. The number or your shares is meaningless.
• Always make sure you get accelerated vesting, at least to the first option cliff, when the company is acquired.
• For more risk – and reward – join startups at earlier stages and get more equity.
• Make yourself indispensable – and coveted – so that when the company gets acquired, you’re paid by the acquirer to stay.

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See Also:

• An Insider’s Perspective On The Great Social Games Consolidation
• Disney Paying Up To $763 Million For Social Gaming Company Playdom
• MySpace Founder Chris DeWolfe Is Planning A Major Social Gaming Roll-Up