4 ms·
A potential employee’s guide to Silicon Valley startup equity
- slumpt_ 6y ago“do your financial planning assuming this equity ends up being worthless” Most important part. It’s a nifty mechanism to avoid the upfront tax burden but you’re partaking in a significant gamble with your money nonetheless. Would highly suggest anyone pursuing this only do so given the money they are spending can be easily thrown away without any impact to long-term financial goals.
- legerdemain 6y agoI worked at Palantir for several years. The net profit I stand to make is about a year of salary, at least if the current stock price holds.
- redis_mlc 6y agoJust a word of warning. I've only met one engineer in Silicon Valley who could explain the details of employee stock options in a convincing way this decade. So if you think you're on top of it, you probably aren't, and need to do a lot more research. Trivia: almost every engineer who worked here in the 80s and 90s became millionaires. (I used to be a member of the San Jose flying club, and there were a ton of engineer-owned Bonanzas and other medium-range aircraft.) Various laws were changed around 2000, and I've met a lot less winners since then, and a lot more engineers who seem to owe the IRS money instead.
- tn890 6y agoI know this is a long shot, but are there any other Europeans here that hold equity in a SV startup? How do you pay taxes? All these guides are for US residents for tax purposes and I have no idea how to handle this.