> 1. Issuing RSUs in a non-public company send like a bad idea. Does anyone actually do this? We offer stock grants (basically RSUs without a formal vesting sc

> 1. Issuing RSUs in a non-public company send like a bad idea. Does anyone actually do this? We offer stock grants (basically RSUs without a formal vesting schedule) to key employees at my firm and have had no issues. You say that there are issues with the vested stock not being liquid, but the issuing employer can simply offer to buy the shares back if needed at fair value if liquidity is needed, which we determine according to a formula which inputs the firm's balance sheet and trailing profitability. This has the advantage of being very straight forward, both to the owners as the issuing party, and the employees -- but has the cost of being disadvantaged by the tax code. Contemporary startup options packages are anything but that. Most of the time neither the employee receiving them nor the HR person explaining them has any idea how they really work -- but for all that opacity, they get a preferential tax treatment. It's probably worth pointing out that the only reason startups rely so heavily on option compensation as opposed to simple equity grants are for the reasons above: they are tax advantaged, and the employees have no idea what they're getting. I wouldn't mind seeing the startup world return to a more easy to understand scheme.