I had a jobinterview this morning at a small startup, that doesn’t even have clients yet. That sounds too risky to be in right now

I get the idea of what you're saying but depending on their funding ... could be safer than places with clients... ;)

Having said that if they're going the 'paying you less but you get mystery equity'... yeah that's not cool.

Yeah it was fun to see their reaction on my salary indication. Obviously too high for them. But then again, it’s just an indication.

Depends on what they're hiring you for. At that stage you should only be hiring heavy hitters who are compensated with a significant stake in the company in addition to market-relative base pay.