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I'm not disagreeing, but you can't just look at the odds of a successful exit when it comes to figuring out the probability that your equity will someday become
by kevinskii 11y ago
I'm not disagreeing, but you can't just look at the odds of a successful exit when it comes to figuring out the probability that your equity will someday become valuable. There are several other factors that can effectively leave common employees' equity worthless, some of which the article describes. Rarely do companies seem to be willing to provide the information needed to weigh the risks.
- akkartik 11y agoYes, absolutely. My % examples were sort of assuming that preliminary analysis. You have to do it for yourself and be comfortable with the conclusion. And avoid like the plague companies that won't give you enough information. Usually if I have to ask more than once that starts to seem like a red flag. I might lose interest really quickly at that point.
- kevinskii 11y agoIn your experience, how often do startups try to play these sorts of equity games? My feeling is that it's overwhelmingly common, but this is based only on interview experiences with 2 startups and on previous HN discussions.
- akkartik 11y agoYeah that's hard to say since nobody has a global view and new companies hang a shingle everyday. The best places tend to know what they're doing, so this makes a good signal for startup quality. Even if it causes you to miss out on a good company it's unlikely you would have had much upside with them anyway. Life's too short, lots of fish in the sea.
- tedmiston 11y agoOn a related note, what is the legality around sharing liquidation preferences with (non-founder) employees?