yeah I got the 3 month review and the equity in writing on the offer letter…but I know it’s shady 
I think what happened is they talked to another head honcho who’s in charge of accounting and he had a different number in his head for my $…it really seems shady.
I should also mention that the offered salary is still above market and I’m at the age where this would be really good design experience in my field (graphic interface design)
It really depends on what leverage you have.
If you really think you are worth your original salary figure (and I mean “worth” as in, could reasonably find employment elsewhere for that amount within maybe 3-6 months) then play hard ball. Take a stand a bit above what you think is your minimum compensation requirements; after a round or two you can “accede” to your min comp reqs and both sides save face.
If, like many fields, yours is suffering through the recession and you think this might be the best offer you can get - well, play soft ball. Try to negotiate a bit on things like paid vacation and/or bonus structure and/or whatever. It might well be worth it to take less salary than you originally hoped but still get better benefits and maybe good resumé filler.
As for the issue of the company founder playing with the offer value - I wouldn’t put too much significance into it. If he’s a successful business founder than he’s used to hard negotiation. Most successful businesspeople are pretty ruthless in negotiation. Play the game with him. Hard if you really are worth it; Soft if this is a learning/resumé building experience.