Thanks for sharing that. I had a look at their stock options page: https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/stock-options/ https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/stock-opti

Thanks for sharing that. I had a look at their stock options page: https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/stock-options/ https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/stock-options/ and think that it's very misleading. > The reason we give stock options instead of straight stock is that you do not need to spend any money to purchase the stock at the date of grant and can decide to purchase the stock later as your options vest. In addition, we do not provide straight stock grants since this may subject you to immediate tax liabilities. Having worked at pre-IPO companies before, both these statements are untrue 1. Most companies issue RSUs instead of straight up stock. No one makes you 'buy' your RSUs. 2. Every pre-IPO company has a double-trigger vest condition where you 'own' the stock only at IPO or acquisition and you only owe taxes then (and most companies auto-sell a portion at IPO to cover taxes).