5 ms·

Without knowledge of the law in this specific case, it still feels like there are reasonable grounds that a private, not-publicly-traded company should be allow

Without knowledge of the law in this specific case, it still feels like there are reasonable grounds that a private, not-publicly-traded company should be allowed to keep its financials private. Though of course, any such NDA should be revealed ahead of time, including the precise language of the NDA, so that investors (and yes, employees who receive equity in lieu of cash are investors) make a fully informed decision.

jessaustin 10y ago
...any such NDA should be revealed ahead of time, including the precise language of the NDA... Is this a common thing with NDAs? ISTM it's rare that during the hiring process one would receive a folder containing all the NDAs one might potentially be asked to sign while working at a firm. One might receive an "initial" NDA, to sign before starting, but every time there is an ownership change one can expect a new round of NDAs, because apparently NDA terms are a rapidly-evolving area of contract law.
- toast0 10y ago
  Requiring a new NDA as a condition (but not prom is) of continued employment is one thing; requiring it as a condition of exercising a statutory right is another.
toufka 10y ago
The law seems to indicate otherwise.
bpicolo 10y ago
Pretty hard for him to convince anybody to buy said shares if they can't in any way see those financials.
- adrr 10y ago
  They can buy 1 share or he could give them 1 share.
  - bpicolo 10y ago
    That's true, sure seems like it shouldn't be necessary though huh?
  - zwily 10y ago
    He may not be able to sell or transfer any shares.
revelation 10y ago
Why? It's a company, why should company fundamentals be protected? What's going on in this world where your phone call is recorded, yet people sheepishly suggest "oh maybe a NDA is okay here, ya know".
nradov 10y ago
Sure they can keep their financials private by requiring a signed NDA before distributing shares. But if they're asking for an NDA after granting shares then it's too late. What incentive would the shareholder have to sign away certain rights in order to gain access to financial records to which he is already entitled? In order for an agreement to be valid and legally enforceable it generally has to provide some specific benefit to both sides.

jessaustin 10y ago

...any such NDA should be revealed ahead of time, including the precise language of the NDA... Is this a common thing with NDAs? ISTM it's rare that during the hiring process one would receive a folder containing all the NDAs one might potentially be asked to sign while working at a firm. One might receive an "initial" NDA, to sign before starting, but every time there is an ownership change one can expect a new round of NDAs, because apparently NDA terms are a rapidly-evolving area of contract law.

toast0 10y ago
Requiring a new NDA as a condition (but not prom is) of continued employment is one thing; requiring it as a condition of exercising a statutory right is another.

toufka 10y ago

The law seems to indicate otherwise.

bpicolo 10y ago

Pretty hard for him to convince anybody to buy said shares if they can't in any way see those financials.

adrr 10y ago
They can buy 1 share or he could give them 1 share.
- bpicolo 10y ago
  That's true, sure seems like it shouldn't be necessary though huh?
- zwily 10y ago
  He may not be able to sell or transfer any shares.

revelation 10y ago

Why? It's a company, why should company fundamentals be protected? What's going on in this world where your phone call is recorded, yet people sheepishly suggest "oh maybe a NDA is okay here, ya know".

nradov 10y ago

Sure they can keep their financials private by requiring a signed NDA before distributing shares. But if they're asking for an NDA after granting shares then it's too late. What incentive would the shareholder have to sign away certain rights in order to gain access to financial records to which he is already entitled? In order for an agreement to be valid and legally enforceable it generally has to provide some specific benefit to both sides.