3 ms·
My very first job was at a startup and I was all excited to get stock options. Later, I heard from a colleague who had bought his options from a previous compan
by Timothee 16y ago
My very first job was at a startup and I was all excited to get stock options. Later, I heard from a colleague who had bought his options from a previous company which had been bought recently: he had a call with the CFO who had to explain that, no, there wasn't anything left for the options he had bought. So, the $5k or so he paid for it were worth nothing at all.
That's when I learned to lean more towards the "options are worthless unless you're a very early employee in a high-potential startup".
(when I think about this, it saddens me a bit how cynical my first jobs have made me)
- tptacek 16y agoHaving friends who had the same experience, that's been my attitude as well, but since I have a knack for sounding like I know exactly what I'm talking about even when I don't, let me candidly say that this attitude cost me a low but significant amount of money when my last employer got acquired. I didn't exercise my options. I don't regret it, because the money I'd've spent to exercise helped get me through year #1 at Matasano, but if it hadn't, I might be upset.