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> Equity agreements should not be intentionally confusing or designed to screw over employees. Totally agree with this. Unfortunately I think there might be ab

> Equity agreements should not be intentionally confusing or designed to screw over employees. Totally agree with this. Unfortunately I think there might be about 5 startups left if this idea were widely implemented.

alasdair_ 7y ago
There are a bunch of things that “good” startups can do (and ARE doing in my experience) to make early stage equity worth it. For example, instead of a 90 day limit after leaving the company to choose to exercise options, many good startups are now offering ten years.
fortran77 7y ago
Your odds of making money are much better with a young-ish but publicly traded company than with a startup. Even if a startup is successful, you won't see much money unless you were one of the founders or early investors. There's a million ways the stock options that early employees get can be made worthless (or worth-little).
- vandyswa 7y ago
  I have BEEN one of the founders, and still didn't make any money off the ultimate sale. There are far too many games with share classes, VC-funded bridge loans, and preferred investor incentives. The only way to win is to not play the game.
TuringNYC 7y ago
>> Equity agreements should not be intentionally confusing or designed to screw over employees. You should feel lucky if confusing is the problem. I think the bigger problem usually is -- you often cant see the cap table. If you cant see the cap table and the preferred overhang, there is no way to realistically understand where you stand in the scheme of things. Confusing can be overcome with some search, but "opaque" cannot be.
hinkley 7y ago
There’s a fine line between bravery and stupidity. I can say as someone older than they were at the time that there was an element of wishful thinking about many of the founders I worked with, and even more so for some that I met in passing. Charismatic people who are deluding themselves just bring others along for the ride. They may not even know they’re being dishonest. People who have a way with words can be sucked in by their own words just as much as others can.

alasdair_ 7y ago

There are a bunch of things that “good” startups can do (and ARE doing in my experience) to make early stage equity worth it. For example, instead of a 90 day limit after leaving the company to choose to exercise options, many good startups are now offering ten years.

fortran77 7y ago

Your odds of making money are much better with a young-ish but publicly traded company than with a startup. Even if a startup is successful, you won't see much money unless you were one of the founders or early investors. There's a million ways the stock options that early employees get can be made worthless (or worth-little).

vandyswa 7y ago
I have BEEN one of the founders, and still didn't make any money off the ultimate sale. There are far too many games with share classes, VC-funded bridge loans, and preferred investor incentives. The only way to win is to not play the game.

TuringNYC 7y ago

>> Equity agreements should not be intentionally confusing or designed to screw over employees. You should feel lucky if confusing is the problem. I think the bigger problem usually is -- you often cant see the cap table. If you cant see the cap table and the preferred overhang, there is no way to realistically understand where you stand in the scheme of things. Confusing can be overcome with some search, but "opaque" cannot be.

hinkley 7y ago

There’s a fine line between bravery and stupidity. I can say as someone older than they were at the time that there was an element of wishful thinking about many of the founders I worked with, and even more so for some that I met in passing. Charismatic people who are deluding themselves just bring others along for the ride. They may not even know they’re being dishonest. People who have a way with words can be sucked in by their own words just as much as others can.