As others are pointing out, options and stock in private companies are, as a rule, worthless. (Unless you're the majority shareholder, and often even then.) T

As others are pointing out, options and stock in private companies are, as a rule, worthless. (Unless you're the majority shareholder, and often even then.) The only protection you have against having your shares be made worthless is that the company wants your ongoing goodwill, because you're a current employee in an acquisition. If you're an ex-employee, you've got no leverage whatsoever. Suppose you owned 90% of a private company, and an ex-employee who resigned a few years prior owned 10%. You have an acquisition offer. Would YOU structure the deal so that the ex-employee got his 10%? Or would you structure the deal so that he got nothing and you got it all? There's no legal penalty for following either option. I think most of you reading this would invent some sort of rationale for screwing the ex-employee (he didn't stick around when we needed him, he didn't pull his weight, he doesn't deserve this payoff that I worked so hard for...), and would then proceed to do so.