My point is more that people seem to look at going public as the one true sign of enterpreneurial success. I worked at a privately owned start up in which maybe 4 employees held all the equity, and the other 200 were simply salaried or paid hourly, and you know what came up in every Q&A? "When are we going public?" It doesn't seem like many people talk about their vision for their start ups being sustainable, or that many people think about the implications of going public for the business itself. Personally, I would be hesitant to invest much time in becoming a client of a company that was rushing to go public because it needed the cash and private investors weren't cutting it or because most of the company wanted to cash out. It's a red flag to me.

But more to your point, recruiters lie, and if you don't realize that as a grown up, college graduate, you've got bigger problems in your life, I suspect, than when a company decides to file IPO. They shouldn't lie, but recruiters tempting you with options also isn't a reason to suddenly submit to the SEC and public traders to get some cash.