4 ms·

The offer letter includes the stock/salary options based off of the current and projected valuation of the company. It's hard not to be impressed when you see

The offer letter includes the stock/salary options based off of the current and projected valuation of the company. It's hard not to be impressed when you see the eye-popping values of stock options after they vest (4 or 5 years). At least that was my experience in 2011. Had I taken the offer I would have had no problem affording a Bay Area house today, given Palantir's current valuation. That also assumes a liquidity event.

CydeWeys 11y ago
Do you regret not taking that job? (Granted it's hard to answer without having all the information available, such as how happy you would've ended up being there over the past five years.)
- linkregister 11y ago
  Yes and no, I chose not to take the job since my spouse didn't want to relocate to Virginia from central Maryland. The job I had at the time was fantastic as well. I have no doubt the position I would have fulfilled at Palantir would be intellectually challenging and rewarding. The salary was also competitive for the DC area (not at all for Palo Alto). So on one hand I made my wife happy but who's to say buying a house in cash might have made her happy too. My colleagues that went there for the most part enjoyed the work. One of them got burned out but I'm confident that was self-imposed and not due to excessive pressure from team leaders.
  - CydeWeys 11y ago
    Oh, similar story! I used to live in Montgomery County, and I interviewed with Palantir precisely because it was a top-tier tech company that I wouldn't have to move for (albeit the commute wouldn't have been amazing). I didn't take interview preparation seriously though and flubbed the interview, so nothing came of it. I did end up relocating to NYC to work a different top-tier tech company that has an engineering office here but not really one in DC. I've basically taken every good job offer I've had in my life, and I haven't regretted one jump.
gaius 11y ago
That would have been a very big assumption http://www.cnbc.com/2014/03/19/free-advice-dont-go-public-says-palantirs-ceo.html http://www.cnbc.com/2014/03/19/free-advice-dont-go-public-sa...
- linkregister 11y ago
  I think Palantir has been overtly committed to avoiding an IPO for a while. Yes, the "liquidity event" mentioned in the article is extremely vague. I'll reach out to my colleagues that are still at Palantir to find out what that actually meant.
  - Anderkent 11y ago
    Liquidity events are simply opportunities to convert some of the stock options to cash, at current FMV.
  - leroy_masochist 11y ago
    It's the ability to do board-sanctioned sales of stock to buyers. It's basically an equity follow-on sale to previous investors (or new investors if there's a round concurrently underway). This is significant because private companies typically have clauses in their option agreements that you can only sell shares pre-IPO if the board approves. So, a company like Palantir structures things so that, before an IPO, you can only make money off your options if you're still working at the company. Oh yeah, and if you leave and want to exercise your options so they don't expire (so that you can have a nest egg that vests when they IPO), be prepared to pay AMT on the difference between the strike price and the current value. They call it "golden handcuffs" for a reason.
    - linkregister 11y ago
      Are you sure that Palantir options expire after the 90 days? The options offered to me were NSOs; I wouldn't have had to convert them. Or are you making a general statement about companies similar to Palantir?
  - 11y ago
linkregister 11y ago
I forgot to add that the actual valuation in 2015 exceeded the median projected valuation listed on that offer letter.

CydeWeys 11y ago

Do you regret not taking that job? (Granted it's hard to answer without having all the information available, such as how happy you would've ended up being there over the past five years.)

linkregister 11y ago
Yes and no, I chose not to take the job since my spouse didn't want to relocate to Virginia from central Maryland. The job I had at the time was fantastic as well. I have no doubt the position I would have fulfilled at Palantir would be intellectually challenging and rewarding. The salary was also competitive for the DC area (not at all for Palo Alto). So on one hand I made my wife happy but who's to say buying a house in cash might have made her happy too. My colleagues that went there for the most part enjoyed the work. One of them got burned out but I'm confident that was self-imposed and not due to excessive pressure from team leaders.
- CydeWeys 11y ago
  Oh, similar story! I used to live in Montgomery County, and I interviewed with Palantir precisely because it was a top-tier tech company that I wouldn't have to move for (albeit the commute wouldn't have been amazing). I didn't take interview preparation seriously though and flubbed the interview, so nothing came of it. I did end up relocating to NYC to work a different top-tier tech company that has an engineering office here but not really one in DC. I've basically taken every good job offer I've had in my life, and I haven't regretted one jump.

gaius 11y ago

That would have been a very big assumption http://www.cnbc.com/2014/03/19/free-advice-dont-go-public-says-palantirs-ceo.html http://www.cnbc.com/2014/03/19/free-advice-dont-go-public-sa...

linkregister 11y ago
I think Palantir has been overtly committed to avoiding an IPO for a while. Yes, the "liquidity event" mentioned in the article is extremely vague. I'll reach out to my colleagues that are still at Palantir to find out what that actually meant.
- Anderkent 11y ago
  Liquidity events are simply opportunities to convert some of the stock options to cash, at current FMV.
- leroy_masochist 11y ago
  It's the ability to do board-sanctioned sales of stock to buyers. It's basically an equity follow-on sale to previous investors (or new investors if there's a round concurrently underway). This is significant because private companies typically have clauses in their option agreements that you can only sell shares pre-IPO if the board approves. So, a company like Palantir structures things so that, before an IPO, you can only make money off your options if you're still working at the company. Oh yeah, and if you leave and want to exercise your options so they don't expire (so that you can have a nest egg that vests when they IPO), be prepared to pay AMT on the difference between the strike price and the current value. They call it "golden handcuffs" for a reason.
  - linkregister 11y ago
    Are you sure that Palantir options expire after the 90 days? The options offered to me were NSOs; I wouldn't have had to convert them. Or are you making a general statement about companies similar to Palantir?
- 11y ago

linkregister 11y ago

I forgot to add that the actual valuation in 2015 exceeded the median projected valuation listed on that offer letter.