3 ms·

I made a lot off of options.. Note the past tense. The way startups operated a decade ago is quite different to the way they operate now. The tricks to get the

I made a lot off of options.. Note the past tense. The way startups operated a decade ago is quite different to the way they operate now. The tricks to get the most from employees without giving away much equity are more widely known now. I have no doubt that there are still some moral and ethical startups about, but I also think there are many, many more who give out stock with absolutely no intention of it becoming valuable in the future these days.

sb8244 3y ago
I think this is a pessimistic view of the situation and I don't subscribe to it being the norm today. I run a (still small, 1.5M ARR) tech startup and we treat our employees fairly. Low / clean investment table, early exercise for employees that make early employee risk effectively 0, upfront about how to deal with options, alongside market salaries. But maybe I am not the norm and it's more common for people to get screwed over. However, I have several friends at startups that have similar recent stories with their options.