سلسلة د خيارات الأسهم

مدونة ماكس ششيريسون.

أفكار حول التكنولوجيا والأعمال التجارية التكنولوجيا.

وأوضح خيارات الأسهم بدء التشغيل.

خيارات الأسهم هي جزء كبير من حلم بدء التشغيل ولكن غالبا ما تكون غير مفهومة جيدا، حتى من قبل كبار التنفيذيين الذين يستمدون الكثير من دخلهم من الخيارات الأسهم. هنا & # 8217؛ s محاولتي لشرح القضايا الرئيسية الموظفين يجب أن يكون على بينة من.

& # 8220؛ خيارات الأسهم & # 8221؛ كما تمنح عادة تمنحك الحق في شراء أسهم الأسهم في المستقبل بسعر يحدد اليوم. سعر الإضراب & # 8220؛ & # 8221؛ هو السعر الذي يمكنك شراء أسهم في المستقبل. إذا كان السهم في المستقبل يستحق أكثر من سعر الإضراب، يمكنك كسب المال عن طريق & # 8220؛ ممارسة & # 8221؛ الخيارات وشراء حصة من الأسهم لسعر الإضراب. على سبيل المثال، يتم منحك 5000 سهم من الأسهم بسعر 4 دولار للسهم الواحد في شركة ناشئة. بعد 5 سنوات، الأسهم يذهب العامة وثلاث سنوات بعد ذلك أنه & # 8217؛ ق تصل إلى 200 $ للسهم الواحد. يمكنك ممارسة الخيار، ودفع 20،000 $ لشراء 5،000 سهم من الأسهم التي تبلغ قيمتها 1،000،000 $. تهانينا، لقد حققت ربحا قبل الضريبة قدره 980،000 دولار، على افتراض بيع الأسهم على الفور.

هناك مصيدة صغيرة ولكنها ضرورية: عندما يتم منحك خياراتك، فهي ليست & # 8220؛ مكتسبة & # 8221 ؛. وهذا يعني أنه إذا تركت الشركة الأسبوع بعد انضمامك، تفقد خيارات الأسهم الخاصة بك. هذا يبدو منطقيا؛ وإلا بدلا من أن يكون حافزا للبقاء، فإنها تكون حافزا على العمل هوب قدر الإمكان، وجمع الخيارات من أكبر عدد ممكن من أرباب العمل ما تستطيع. لذلك، كم من الوقت لديك للبقاء للحفاظ على الخيارات الخاصة بك؟ في معظم الشركات، فإنها ستستمر على مدى أربع سنوات. الهيكل الأكثر شيوعا هو & # 8220؛ جرف & # 8221؛ بعد سنة واحدة عندما تستحوذ على 25٪ من أسهمك، وتستحق األسهم المتبقية على أساس تناسبي على أساس شهري حتى تصل إلى أربع سنوات. التفاصيل تختلف من شركة إلى أخرى. بعض الشركات على خيارات أكثر من 5 سنوات وبعض على مدى فترات أخرى من الزمن، وليس كل أصحاب العمل لديهم الهاوية.

الجرف هناك لحماية الشركة & # 8211؛ وجميع المساهمين، بما في ذلك الموظفين الآخرين & # 8211؛ من الاضطرار إلى إعطاء أسهم للأفراد الذين ملاذ 'ر قدمت مساهمات ذات مغزى للشركة.

لماذا يجب أن تهتم ما إذا كان هذا الرجل الذي حصل على النار بعد ستة أشهر مشى بعيدا مع أي خيارات أم لا؟ لأن هذه الخيارات & # 8220؛ تمييع & # 8221؛ ملكيتك للشركة. تذكر أن كل سهم يمثل قطعة ملكية للشركة. وكلما زاد عدد الأسهم هناك، انخفضت القيمة التي يمثلها كل واحد منها. دعونا نقول عند الانضمام إلى بدء التشغيل والحصول على 5000 سهم، وهناك 25،000،000 مجموع الأسهم القائمة. أنت تملك .02٪ & # 8211؛ نقطتان أساسيتان & # 8211؛ الشركة. إذا قامت الشركة بإصدار 25.000.000 خيار أو أسهم أخرى على مدى السنوات الخمس السابقة، فهناك 50.000.000 سهم في الاكتتاب العام (عادة إما كجزء من جمع الأموال بما في ذلك الاكتتاب العام أو لتوظيف الموظفين)، وتترك أنت مع .01٪ & # 8211؛ نقطة أساس أو نصف النسبة المئوية الأصلية. كان لديك 50٪ التخفيف. يمكنك الآن جعل نصف بنفس القيمة لنفس الشركة.

ومع ذلك، التخفيف ليس بالضرورة سيئة. والسبب في موافقة المجلس على أي معاملة مخففة (جمع الأموال، وشراء شركة، وإعطاء خيارات الأسهم) هو أنها تعتقد أنها سوف تجعل أسهم أكثر من قيمتها. إذا كانت شركتك تثير الكثير من المال، قد تمتلك نسبة مئوية أصغر، ولكن الأمل هو أن وجود هذا النقد يسمح للشركة لتنفيذ استراتيجية مما يعزز قيمة المؤسسة بما يكفي لأكثر من تعويض عن التخفيف و سعر السهم ترتفع. وبالنسبة للمعاملة المعينة (التي ترفع 10 ملايين دولار)، كلما كان ذلك أقل تخفيفا، إلا أن رفع مبلغ 15 مليون دولار قد يكون أقل تخفيفا من زيادة 10 ملايين دولار مع زيادة قيمة كل حصة قائمة.

هذا يقودنا إلى العدد الذي هو أكثر أهمية بكثير (على الرغم من أنه هو السبر أقل إثارة للإعجاب) من عدد الأسهم & # 8211؛ ما هو جزء من الشركة التي تملكها. وغالبا ما يقاس هذا من حيث النسبة المئوية، والتي أعتقد أنها مؤسفة لأن عدد قليل جدا من الموظفين غير المؤسسين ينتهي بنسبة واحد في المئة أو حتى نصف في المئة، لذلك أنت & # 8217؛ وغالبا ما نتحدث عن الكسور الصغيرة، التي هي مزعجة. أعتقد أنه من المفيد قياسه في & # 8220؛ نقطة أساس & # 8221؛ & # 8211؛ مئة في المئة. بغض النظر عن الوحدات، وهذا هو الرقم الذي يهم. لماذا ا؟

دعونا نقول الشركة A وشركة B على حد سواء، بعد الكثير من العمل الشاق، بقيمة 10 مليار $ (على غرار ريد هات، على سبيل المثال). منذ فترة طويلة ذهب ألبرت للعمل في الشركة A وذهب بوب للعمل في شركة B. ألبرت بخيبة أمل أنه حصل فقط على 5000 الخيارات، وتم منحها بسعر 4 $ لكل منهما. كان بوب سعيدا جدا & # 8211؛ حصل على 50.000 خيار بسعر 20 سنتا فقط. من حصل عل الصفقة الأفضل؟ هذا يعتمد. دعونا نقول الشركة لديها 25،000،000 سهم القائمة، وكانت الشركة B 500،000،000 سهم القائمة. بعد سنوات عديدة و 50٪ تخفيف في كل حالة، الشركة لديها 50،000،000 سهم القائمة حتى أنها تستحق 200 $ لكل و حققت ألبرت ربحا من 980،000 $ على خياراته ($ 1 مليون قيمة ناقص 20000 $ تكلفة التمرين). الشركة B لديها 1 مليار سهم القائمة، لذلك هم يستحقون 10 $ لكل منهما. بوب & # 8217؛ ق صافي له أرباحا من 9.80 $ لكل منهما، لربح إجمالي قدره 490،000 $. لذلك في حين كان بوب لديه المزيد من الخيارات بسعر أقل من الإضراب، وقال انه جعل أقل من المال عندما حققت شركته نفس النتيجة.

ويصبح ذلك واضحا عند النظر إلى نسبة الملكية. كان ألبرت 2 نقطة أساس، وكان بوب واحد. على الرغم من أنه كان أقل من الأسهم، وكان ألبرت المزيد من الأسهم في الطريقة الوحيدة التي تهم.

كم عدد الأسهم المعلقة & # 8220؛ العادية & # 8221 ؛؟ على مستوى ما عدد هو التعسفي تماما، ولكن العديد من الشركات الممولة فك يميلون إلى البقاء في نطاق مماثل الذي يختلف على أساس المرحلة. كما تذهب الشركة من خلال المزيد من جولات التمويل ويستأجر المزيد من الموظفين، فإنه سيتميل إلى إصدار المزيد من الأسهم. A & # 8220؛ نورمال & # 8221؛ مرحلة مبكرة قد يكون بدء 25-50 مليون سهم المعلقة. قد يكون متوسط ​​المرحلة العادية (إيرادات كبيرة وجولات تمويل متعددة، والكثير من الموظفين مع فريق إيكسيك الكامل في مكان) 50-100 مليون سهم القائمة. الشركات المرحلة المتأخرة التي هي على استعداد للاكتتاب العام غالبا ما يكون أكثر من 100 مليون سهم القائمة. في النهاية، العدد الفعلي لا يهم، ما يهم هو العدد الإجمالي بالنسبة لحجم المنحة.

تحدثت بإيجاز عن ممارسة الخيارات أعلاه. من الأمور المهمة التي يجب مراعاتها أن ممارسة خياراتك تكلف المال. اعتمادا على سعر الإضراب وعدد الخيارات لديك، قد يكلف قليلا من المال. في العديد من الشركات العامة، يمكنك إجراء & # 8220؛ ممارسة غير نقدية & # 8221؛ أو & # 8220؛ نفس اليوم للبيع & # 8221؛ حيث يمكنك ممارسة وبيع في معاملة واحدة وأنها ترسل لك الفرق. في معظم الشركات الخاصة، ليس هناك طريقة بسيطة للقيام ما يعادلها. تسمح لك بعض الشركات الخاصة بتسليم بعض الأسهم التي حصلت عليها فقط في الشركة على & نبسب؛ & # 8220؛ القيمة السوقية العادلة & # 8221 ؛؛ قراءة خيارات الخيارات الخاصة بك لمعرفة ما إذا كان يتم تقديم هذا. I & # 8217؛ سوف نتحدث أكثر عن & # 8220؛ القيمة السوقية العادلة & # 8221؛ أدناه، ولكن الآن أنا & # 8217؛ ليرة لبنانية أقول فقط أنه في حين لها عظيم أن يكون هذا الخيار، فإنه هو & # 8217؛ ر دائما أفضل صفقة إذا كان لديك أي بديل.

والشيء المهم الآخر الذي يجب مراعاته في ممارسة خيارات الأسهم هو الضرائب التي سأناقشها لاحقا.

في رأيي، العملية التي يتم بموجبها & # 8220؛ القيمة السوقية العادلة & # 8221؛ من الأسهم الناشئة يتم تحديدها في كثير من الأحيان تنتج التقييمات التي سيكون من الصعب جدا العثور على البائع وسهلة جدا للعثور على المشترين & # 8211؛ وبعبارة أخرى قيمة غالبا ما تكون أقل قليلا من معظم الناس & # 8217؛ s بديهية تعريف القيمة السوقية. مصطلح & # 8220؛ القيمة السوقية العادلة & # 8221؛ في هذا السياق معنى محدد جدا لمصلحة الضرائب، وعليك أن تدرك أن هذا المعنى التقني قد لا يتوافق مع السعر الذي سيكون فكرة جيدة لبيع الأسهم الخاصة بك.

لماذا تشارك مصلحة الضرائب وما يجري؟ يخضع إصدار خيار الأسهم جزئيا للقسم 409 أ من قانون الإيرادات الداخلي الذي يغطي & # 8220؛ التعويض المؤجل غير المؤهل & # 8221؛ & # 8211؛ يحصل العاملون على تعويضات في سنة واحدة تدفع في السنة المقبلة، بخلاف المساهمات في & # 8220؛ الخطط المؤهلة & # 8221؛ مثل 401 (ك) الخطط. خيارات الأسهم تمثل تحديا في تحديد متى & # 8220؛ التعويض & # 8221؛ هو & # 8220؛ مدفوع & # 8221 ؛. هل هو & # 8220؛ مدفوع & # 8221؛ عندما يتم منح الخيار، عندما سترات، عند ممارسة الخيار، أو عند بيع الأسهم؟ أحد العوامل التي تستخدمها مصلحة الضرائب لتحديد ذلك هو كيفية مقارنة سعر الإضراب مع القيمة السوقية العادلة. وتتيح الخيارات الممنوحة بأقل من القيمة السوقية العادلة إيراد خاضع للضريبة، مع فرض غرامة على الاستحقاق. هذا أمر سيء جدا. لا تريد دفع فاتورة ضريبية عند استحقاق خياراتك حتى إذا لم تكن قد مارستها بعد.

غالبا ما تفضل الشركات انخفاض أسعار الإضراب للخيارات & # 8211؛ وهذا يجعل الخيارات أكثر جاذبية للموظفين المحتملين. وكانت نتيجة ذلك معيارا واقعيا لتحديد القيمة السوقية العادلة & # 8221؛ من أجل أغراض إصدار خيارات بدء التشغيل في مرحلة مبكرة تكون مساوية ل 10٪ من السعر الذي يدفعه المستثمرون فعلا للأسهم (انظر مناقشة فئات الأسهم أدناه).

في حالة خيارات الأسهم الناشئة، فإنها تحدد أنه يجب استخدام طريقة تقييم معقولة تأخذ في الاعتبار جميع المعلومات المادية المتاحة. أنواع المعلومات التي ينظرون إليها هي قيم األصول والتدفقات النقدية والقيمة التي يمكن تحديدها بسهولة للكيانات المماثلة والخصومات لعدم قابلية األسهم للتسويق. الحصول على التقييم خاطئ ينطوي على عقوبة ضريبية صارمة، ولكن إذا تم التقييم من خلال تقييم مستقل، هناك افتراض معقولية وهو قابل للنقض فقط على مصلحة الضرائب تبين أن الأسلوب أو تطبيقه كان غير معقول بشكل كبير & # 8221 ،.

معظم الشركات الناشئة لديها كل من الأسهم المشتركة والمفضلة. إن األسهم العادية هي عادة األسهم المملوكة من قبل المؤسسين والموظفين واألسهم الممتازة هي األسهم المملوكة من قبل المستثمرين. فما هو الفرق؟ وكثيرا ما تكون هناك ثلاثة اختلافات رئيسية: تفضيلات التصفية، وأرباح الأسهم، وحقوق المساهمين من الأقليات بالإضافة إلى مجموعة متنوعة من الاختلافات الأصغر. ماذا تعني هذه ولماذا يتم تضمينها عادة؟

أكبر الفرق في الممارسة هو تفضيل التصفية، وهو ما يعني عادة أن أول شيء يحدث مع أي عائدات من بيع الشركة هو أن المستثمرين الحصول على أموالهم. المؤسسون / الموظفين فقط كسب المال عندما المستثمرين كسب المال. في بعض الصفقات التمويل المستثمرين الحصول على 2X أو 3X العودة قبل أن يحصل أي شخص آخر يدفع. شخصيا أحاول تجنب تلك، ولكن يمكن أن تجعل المستثمرين على استعداد للقيام الصفقة لأسهم أقل، وذلك في بعض الحالات أنها يمكن أن يكون لها معنى. غالبا ما يطلب المستثمرون توزيعات أرباح (مماثلة للفائدة) على استثماراتهم، وعادة ما تكون هناك بعض الأحكام التي تتطلب موافقة المستثمرين على بيع الشركة في حالات معينة.

وعادة ما يحصل الموظفون على خيارات الأسهم العادية دون توزيعات الأرباح أو تفضيل التصفية. وبالتالي فإن الأسهم لا تستحق تماما بقدر الأسهم المفضلة التي يشتريها المستثمرون.

وهذا هو، بطبيعة الحال، السؤال الكبير. إذا كانت قيمة السوق العادلة & # 8221؛ ألا تتطابق مع السعر الذي تعتقد أنه يمكن أن تجد فيه مشتريا بشكل معقول، كيف يمكنك تقدير القيمة الحقيقية لخياراتك؟

إذا كانت شركتك قد رفعت المال مؤخرا، فإن السعر الذي يدفعه المستثمرون للأسهم المفضلة يمكن أن يكون نقطة مرجعية مثيرة للاهتمام. كانت تجربتي هي أن سعر السوق) وليس القيمة الرسمية للسوق العادلة & # 8221؛، ولكن ما تدفعه العمالت االفتراضية (للأسهم العادية غالبا ما يتراوح بين 50٪ و 80٪ من السعر الذي يدفعه المستثمرون للأسهم الممتازة. وكلما زاد احتمال بيع الشركة بسعر منخفض بما فيه الكفاية بحيث يستفيد المستثمرون من تفضيلهم كلما زاد الفرق بين قيمة الأسهم المفضلة والأسهم العادية.

الشيء الآخر الذي يجب مراعاته هو أن معظم الناس لا يملكون الفرصة لشراء الأسهم المفضلة للسعر الذي تدفعه المجالس القروية. ويسر الكثير من المستثمرين المتطورين جدا أن تتاح لهم الفرصة للاستثمار في صناديق رأس المال الرأسمالي من الدرجة الأولى حيث يأخذ رأس المال المتداول 1-2٪ سنويا في رسوم الإدارة و 25-30٪ من الأرباح. قالوا جميعا إنهم يملكون حوالي 60٪ من صافي شراء الأسهم مباشرة. لذلك عندما يشتري الرأسمال الرأسمالي أسهما مشتركة بنسبة 70٪ من سعر الأسهم المفضلة، تأتي هذه الأموال من صندوق تقاعد أو منحة جامعية تحصل على 60٪ أو نحو ذلك من قيمة تلك الحصة المشتركة. وبالتالي، فإن المستثمر الذكي يقوم بشكل غير مباشر بشراء أسهمك المشتركة مقابل السعر الذي تدفعه العمالت االفتراضية مقابل السعر المفضل.

إذا لم يكن هناك جولة مؤخرا، فإن تقييم قيمة أسهمك أصعب. قد تكون القيمة السوقية العادلة أقرب نقطة مرجعية متاحة، ولكنني رأيت حالات حيث 30-60٪ (وأحيانا أبعد) أدناه ما قد يدفع المستثمر العقلاني لأسهمك. إذا كان الشيء الوحيد الذي لديك، قد تخمن أن القيمة السوقية ستكون أقرب إلى 2x & # 8220؛ القيمة السوقية العادلة & # 8221؛، على الرغم من أن هذه الفجوة تميل إلى الانكماش كما تقترب من الاكتتاب العام.

انتهاء الصلاحية وإنهاء الخدمة.

تنتهي الخيارات عادة بعد 10 سنوات، مما يعني أنه في ذلك الوقت أنها تحتاج إلى أن تمارس أو أنها لا قيمة لها. كما تنتهي الخيارات عادة بعد 90 يوما من ترك وظيفتك. حتى لو كانت مكتسبة، تحتاج إلى ممارسة لهم أو تفقد لهم في هذه المرحلة. أحيانا هذا قابل للتفاوض، ولكن هذا أمر نادر جدا & # 8211؛ لا تعتمد على القدرة على التفاوض على هذا، خاصة بعد الحقيقة.

ويشكل شرط الممارسة في غضون 90 يوما من إنهاء الخدمة نقطة هامة جدا ينبغي مراعاتها عند وضع الخطط المالية والوظيفية. إذا كنت & # 8217؛ لا حذرا، يمكنك ينتهي المحاصرين خيارات الأسهم الخاصة بك؛ أنا & # 8217؛ سوف نناقش هذا أدناه.

ستتوفر في بعض الأحيان خيارات الأسهم & # 8220؛ تسارع & # 8221؛ اللغة حيث يستقرون في وقت مبكر على أحداث معينة، وغالبا ما يكون تغيير السيطرة. وهذا مجال من أوجه عدم التماثل حيث يكون كبار المسؤولين التنفيذيين في هذه الأحكام أكثر تكرارا من موظفي الرتب. هناك ثلاثة أنواع رئيسية من التسارع: تسارع تغيير التحكم، والتسارع عند الإنهاء، و & # 8220؛ الزناد المزدوج & # 8221؛ التسارع الذي يتطلب كل من تغيير السيطرة وإنهاء لتسريع الاستحقاق الخاص بك. يمكن أن يكون التسارع كاملا (جميع الخيارات غير المؤهلة) أو جزئية (على سبيل المثال، استحقاق سنة إضافية واحدة أو 50٪ من الأسهم غير المستثمرة).

وبوجه عام، أعتقد أن لغة التسارع منطقية في حالتين محددتين ولكنهما لا معنى لهما في معظم الحالات الأخرى: أولا، عندما يتم التعاقد مع مسؤول تنفيذي في جزء كبير منه لبيع شركة، فإنه يوفر حافزا مناسبا للقيام بذلك؛ ثانیا عندما یکون المسؤول التنفیذي في دور یصبح من المرجح أن یکون زائدا عن الحاجة عند بیع الشرکة و ب) سوف یشارك بشکل کبیر في البیع في حالة حدوثھ یمکنھ أن یلغي بعض العقوبات المالیة الشخصیة التي تدفعھا السلطة التنفیذیة فإنه من الأسهل بالنسبة لهم للتركيز على القيام بعملهم. في هذه الحالة الثانية، وأعتقد تسارع جزئي، الزناد المزدوج هو عادل. في الحالة الأولى، قد يتم استدعاء التسارع الكامل ل، الزناد واحد.

في معظم الحالات الأخرى، أعتقد أن المديرين التنفيذيين يجب أن يتقاضون رواتبهم عندما وكيف يحصل الجميع على دفع. يعتقد بعض المديرين التنفيذيين أنه من المهم الحصول على بعض التسارع عند الإنهاء. شخصيا لا & # 8217؛ t & # 8211؛ I & # 8217؛ د بدلا من التركيز التفاوض بلدي على الحصول على صفقة مواتية في حالة حيث أنا & # 8217؛ م ناجحة والعصا حولها لفترة من الوقت.

كم عدد خيارات الأسهم التي يجب الحصول عليها يتم تحديدها إلى حد كبير من قبل السوق وتختلف قليلا جدا من موقف إلى موقف. هذا هو مجال صعب للحصول على المعلومات و أنا متأكد من أن كل ما أقول سوف يكون مثيرا للجدل، ولكن أنا & # 8217؛ سوف أبذل قصارى جهدي لوصف السوق كما أعتقد أنه موجود اليوم. ويستند هذا على تجربتي في اثنين من الشركات الناشئة وشركة واحدة كبيرة استعراض حوالي ألف منحة المنح الإجمالية، وكذلك التحدث إلى المجالس القروية والمديرين التنفيذيين الآخرين ومراجعة استطلاعات الرأي التعويض.

أولا، أتحدث عن كيفية تفكير أحجام المنح، ثم أعطي بعض الإرشادات المحددة للمواقف المختلفة.

وأعتقد اعتقادا راسخا أن الطريقة الأكثر منطقية للتفكير في أحجام المنحة هي بقيمة الدولار. كما نوقش أعلاه، عدد الأسهم لا معنى له. في حين أن النسبة المئوية للشركة أفضل فإنها تختلف بشكل كبير على أساس المرحلة ولذلك فمن الصعب تقديم مشورة قابلة للتطبيق على نطاق واسع: 1 نقطة أساس (0،01٪) من غوغل أو أوراكل هي منحة ضخمة ل إيكسيك كبار ولكن في نفس الوقت 1 نقطة أساس هو منحة صغيرة لموظف مستوى الدخول في سلسلة الخام - A بدء التشغيل. قد تكون منحة عادلة لموظف متوسط ​​المستوى في مرحلة ما قبل الاكتتاب الأولي. قيمة الدولار يساعد على حساب كل هذا.

بشكل عام لهذه الأغراض لن أستخدم قيمة 409a & # 8220؛ القيمة السوقية العادلة & # 8221 ؛. وأود أن أستخدم إما أ) القيمة في الجولة الأخيرة إذا كان هناك واحد أو ب) السعر الذي كنت تعتقد أن الشركة يمكن أن تثير المال اليوم إذا لم يكن هناك جولة في الآونة الأخيرة.

ما أود أن ألقي نظرة عليه هو قيمة الأسهم التي تستثمرها كل عام، ومقدار قيمتها إذا كان السهم يفعل ما يريد المستثمرون القيام به & # 8211؛ الزيادات في القيمة 5-10 مرات. هذه ليست نتيجة مضمونة، ولا هو الخيال البري. ماذا ينبغي أن تكون هذه المبالغ؟ ويختلف هذا حسب مستوى الوظيفة:

مستوى الدخول: توقع أن تكون قيمة الاستحقاق السنوية قابلة للمقارنة بمكافأة سنوية صغيرة، على الأرجح 500 - 2500 دولار أمريكي. نتوقع القيمة الإجمالية إذا كانت الشركة جيدا أن تكون كافية لشراء سيارة، المرجح 25-50k $.

من ذوي الخبرة: الموظفين الأكثر خبرة ستسقط في هذا النطاق. توقع أن تكون قيمة الاستحقاق السنوية قابلة للمقارنة مع مكافأة سنوية معتدلة، من المحتمل أن تكون 2500 - 10 ألف دولار أمريكي، والقيمة الإجمالية إذا كانت الشركة تعمل بشكل جيد لتكون كافية لسداد دفعة على منزل وادي السيليكون أو لوضع طفل عن طريق الكلية، من المحتمل حوالي 100-200،000 دولار.

الإدارة الرئیسیة: یستأجر علی مستوى المدیرین وحفنة من المساھمین الفرديین کبار السن عادة في ھذا النطاق. كبار الموظفين في وقت مبكر غالبا ما ينتهي في هذا النطاق مع نمو الشركة. نتوقع أن يكون مبلغ الاستحقاق السنوي مثل مكافأة كبيرة، من المحتمل 10K-40K $ والقيمة الإجمالية إذا كانت الشركة بشكل جيد لتكون كافية لسداد الرهن العقاري وادي السيليكون الخاص بك، المرجح $ 500K - $ 1 مليون.

التنفيذي: نائب الرئيس، سفب، و كسو (باستثناء الرئيس التنفيذي). توقع أن تكون قيمة الاستحقاق السنوية جزءا كبيرا من راتبك، على الأرجح 40-100 ألف دولار أمريكي (أو ما يعادله بالعملة المحلية)، والقيمة إذا كان أداء الشركة جيدا بمبلغ مليون دولار أو أكثر.

بالنسبة لأولئك الذين يقرأون هذا من بعيد ويحلم ثراء وادي السيليكون، وهذا قد يبدو مخيبا للآمال. تذكر، ومع ذلك، ومع ذلك، فإن معظم الناس لديهم ما يقرب من 10 وظيفة في مهنة 40 عاما في مجال التكنولوجيا. على مدى تلك المهنة، 4 نجاحات (أقل من النصف) في مستويات متزايدة من الأقدمية سوف تسدد القروض الطلابية الخاصة بك، وتوفير الدفعة المقدمة الخاصة بك، ووضع طفل من خلال الكلية، وفي نهاية المطاف سداد الرهن العقاري الخاص بك. ليس سيئا عندما تعتبر أنك ستحصل على راتب أيضا.

يجب أن تسأل على الاطلاق كم عدد الأسهم المعلقة & # 8220؛ المخفف تماما & # 8221 ؛. يجب أن يكون صاحب العمل مستعدا للإجابة على هذا السؤال. وأود أن أضع أي قيمة على خيارات الأسهم من صاحب العمل الذي لن يجيب على هذا بوضوح ودون لبس. & # 8220؛ مخفف بالكامل & # 8221؛ يعني ليس فقط عدد الأسهم المصدرة اليوم، ولكن كم عدد الأسهم ستكون مستحقة إذا تم إصدار جميع الأسهم التي تم الترخيص. وهذا يشمل خيارات الأسهم للموظفين التي تم منحها فضلا عن الأسهم التي تم حجزها للإصدار للموظفين الجدد (الأسهم & # 8220؛ تجمع & # 8221؛ فمن الطبيعي أن نضع جانبا تجمع مع جمع التبرعات بحيث يمكن للمستثمرين معرفة عدد والأسهم الإضافية التي يتوقع أن تصدرها)، وأشياء أخرى مثل الأوامر التي قد تكون صدرت فيما يتعلق بالقروض.

يجب عليك أن تسأل كم من المال الشركة لديها في البنك، ومدى سرعة حرق النقد، وفي المرة القادمة التي يتوقعون لجمع التبرعات. سيؤثر ذلك على مقدار التخفيف الذي يجب أن تتوقعه وتقييمك لخطر االنضمام إلى الشركة. لا تتوقع الحصول على إجابة دقيقة على هذا السؤال كما في السابق، ولكن في معظم الحالات يكون من المعقول أن يكون لدى الموظفين مؤشرا عاما للوضع النقدي للشركة.

يجب عليك أن تسأل ما هو سعر الإضراب للمنح الأخيرة. لن يتمكن أحد من إخبارك بسعر الإضراب لمنحة مستقبلية لأن ذلك يعتمد على القيمة السوقية العادلة في وقت المنحة (بعد بدء ومتى يوافق المجلس عليه)؛ كان لي صديق الانضمام إلى شركة الألعاب الساخنة وارتفع سعر الإضراب 3X من الوقت الذي قبل العرض إلى الوقت الذي بدأ. التغييرات شائعة، على الرغم من 3X غير عادية إلى حد ما.

يجب أن تسأل عما إذا كان لديهم فكرة عن كيفية تقييم الشركة اليوم، ولكن قد لا تحصل على إجابة. هناك ثلاثة أسباب قد لا تحصل على إجابة: واحد، قد تعرف الشركة تقييم من جولة حديثة جدا ولكن ليس على استعداد للكشف عن ذلك؛ واثنين من الشركة قد بصراحة لا يعرفون ما سيكون التقييم العادل؛ ثلاثة، قد يكون لديهم فكرة ولكن تكون غير مريحة تقاسمها لمجموعة متنوعة من الأسباب المشروعة. ما لم تنضم إلى دور تنفيذي كبير حيث ستشارك في مناقشات جمع التبرعات، فهناك فرصة جيدة لن تحصل على إجابة على هذا السؤال، ولكن لا يمكن أن تسأل.

إذا كنت تستطيع الحصول على شعور بالتقييم للشركة، يمكنك استخدام ذلك لتقييم قيمة خيارات الأسهم الخاصة بك كما وصفت أعلاه. إذا كان يمكنك & # 8217؛ t، أنا & # 8217؛ d استخدام مرتين & # 8220؛ قيمة السوق العادلة & # 8221؛ كتقدير معقول لسعر السوق الحالي عند تطبيق مقاييسي أعلاه.

ميزة واحدة بعض خطط الأسهم تقدم هو ممارسة في وقت مبكر. مع التمرين المبكر، يمكنك ممارسة الخيارات قبل أن تكون مكتسبة. الجانب السلبي من ذلك هو أن يكلف المال لممارسة لهم، وربما يكون هناك ضرائب المستحقة عند ممارسة الرياضة. الاتجاه الصعودي هو أنه إذا كانت الشركة جيدا، قد تدفع ضرائب أقل بكثير. علاوة على ذلك، يمكنك تجنب الوضع حيث يمكنك ترك وظيفتك لأنه لا يمكنك تحمل فاتورة الضرائب المرتبطة بممارسة خيارات الأسهم (انظر أدناه حيث أتحدث عن أن تكون محاصرين من قبل خيارات الأسهم الخاصة بك).

إذا كنت تمارس التمرين المبكر، يجب عليك تقييم العواقب الضريبية بعناية. بشكل افتراضي، فإن مصلحة الضرائب ستعتبر أنك حصلت على دخل خاضع للضريبة على الفرق بين القيمة السوقية العادلة وسعر الإضراب كما سترات الأسهم. هذا يمكن أن يكون كارثيا إذا كان السهم بشكل جيد جدا. ومع ذلك، هناك خيار (أن & # 8220؛ 83b الانتخابات & # 8221؛ في إرس لغة) حيث يمكنك اختيار لدفع جميع الضرائب مسبقا على أساس ممارسة في وقت مبكر. في هذه الحالة يتم احتساب الضرائب على الفور، وهي تستند إلى الفرق بين القيمة السوقية العادلة وسعر الإضراب في وقت التمرين. إذا، على سبيل المثال، كنت تمارس على الفور بعد منح الأسهم، وهذا الفرق هو على الارجح الصفر، شريطة تقديم الأوراق بشكل صحيح، لا ضريبة المستحقة حتى تبيع بعض الأسهم. حذر من أن إرس لا يغفر عن هذه الأوراق. لدیك 30 یوما من ممارسة خیاراتك لتقدیم الأوراق، و إرس واضح جدا أنھ لا یتم منح أي استثناءات تحت أي ظرف من الظروف.

أنا من محبي برامج التمرين المبكر، ولكن حذر من أن يكون: القيام ممارسة في وقت مبكر وعدم إجراء انتخابات 83b يمكن أن تخلق حطام القطار المالي. إذا كنت تفعل هذا وكنت في الديون الضريبية لبقية حياتك بسبب نجاح الشركة عابرة، لا & # 8217؛ ر يأتي يبكي بالنسبة لي.

ماذا لو تركت؟ وللشركة الحق، ولكن ليس الالتزام، بإعادة شراء أسهم غير مستحقة بالسعر الذي دفعته مقابلها. هذا عدل؛ فإن الأسهم غير المكتسبة تجذب & # 8217؛ t حقا & # 8220؛ لك & # 8221؛ حتى تكتمل خدمة كافية لهم للحصول على سترة، ويجب أن نكون شاكرين لإتاحة الفرصة لممارسة الرياضة في وقت مبكر وربما دفع ضرائب أقل.

الضرائب على خيارات الأسهم معقدة. هناك نوعان مختلفان من خيارات الأسهم، خيارات الأسهم الحوافز (إسو) وخيارات الأسهم غير المؤهلة التي يتم التعامل معها بشكل مختلف لأغراض المخزون. هناك ثلاث مرات قد تكون مستحقة للضرائب (عند الاستحقاق، في الممارسة، وعند البيع). ويزداد ذلك تعقيدا بالتمارين المبكرة والانتخابات المحتملة 83 ب كما نوقشت أعلاه.

يحتاج هذا القسم إلى إخلاء المسؤولية: أنا لست محاميا أو مستشارا ضريبيا. سأحاول تلخيص النقاط الرئيسية هنا ولكن هذا هو حقا مجال حيث يدفع للحصول على المشورة المهنية التي تأخذ الوضع الخاص بك بعين الاعتبار في الاعتبار. لن أكون مسؤولا عن أكثر مما دفعته لهذه النصيحة، وهو صفر.

ولأغراض هذه المناقشة، سأفترض أن هذه الخيارات تمنح بسعر إضراب لا يقل عن القيمة السوقية العادلة، وفي المناقشة التي أجريتها بشأن التمرين المبكر، سأفترض أيضا أنه في حالة التمرين المبكر الذي أجريته 83b لذلك لا توجد ضرائب مستحقة عند الاستحقاق وأنا يمكن أن تركز على الضرائب المستحقة على ممارسة وبيع. I & # 8217؛ ستبدأ مع مكاتب الإحصاء الوطنية.

وتحسب مكاسب مكتب الإحصاء الوطني في الممارسة على أنها دخل عادي. على سبيل المثال، إذا كنت تمارس خيارات بسعر إضراب قدره 10 دولارات للسهم الواحد، والسهم يستحق 50 $ للسهم الواحد في وقت التمرين، كنت مدينون ضرائب الدخل على 40 $ للسهم الواحد. عندما تبيع الأسهم، فإنك مدين بأرباح رأسمالية (قصيرة أو طويلة الأجل اعتمادا على فترة الحيازة الخاصة بك) على الفرق بين قيمة الأسهم عند ممارسة الرياضة وعند بيعها. بعض الناس يرون فائدة كبيرة في ممارسة وعقد لدفع مكاسب رأس المال على المدى الطويل على جزء كبير من التقدير. حذر من أن يكون قد فقد الكثير من الثروات القيام بذلك.

ماذا يمكن أن تذهب الخطأ؟ لنفترض أن لديك 20،000 سهم خيارات بسعر 5 $ للسهم الواحد في الأسهم التي تبلغ الآن 100 $ للسهم الواحد. مبروك! ولكن، في محاولة لتقليل الضرائب، يمكنك ممارسة وعقد. يمكنك مسح المدخرات الخاصة بك لكتابة شيك ل 100،000 $ لممارسة الخيارات الخاصة بك. في نيسان / أبريل القادم، سيكون لديك فاتورة ضريبة بمبلغ إضافي 1.9 مليون دولار في الدخل؛ في اليوم & # 8217؛ s معدلات الضرائب التي ستكون 665،000 $ ل إرس، بالإضافة إلى شيء لدولتك. لا داعي للقلق على الرغم من؛ إنه & # 8217؛ s فبراير والضرائب أرين & # 8217؛ ر حتى أبريل المقبل؛ يمكنك الاحتفاظ الأسهم لمدة 14 شهرا، وبيع في أبريل في الوقت المناسب لدفع الضرائب الخاصة بك، وجعل مكاسب رأس المال على أي تقدير إضافي. إذا كان السهم يذهب من 100 $ إلى 200 $ للسهم الواحد، سوف تجعل آخر 2 مليون $ و أنت & # 8217 سوف تدين فقط 300 $، أوو في مكاسب رأس المال على المدى الطويل، مقابل 700،000 $ في ضرائب الدخل. لقد نجحت في توفير مبلغ 400،000 دولار أميركي (أو ما يعادله بالعملة المحلية) في الضرائب باستخدام طريقة الشراء والشراء.

ولكن ماذا لو كان السهم يذهب إلى 20 $ للسهم الواحد؟ حسنا، في العام المقبل لديك خسارة رأس المال 1.6 مليون $. يمكنك تعويض 3000 $ من ذلك ضد السنوات المقبلة ضريبة الدخل الخاص بك والمضي قدما بما فيه الكفاية للحفاظ على القيام بذلك لفترة من الوقت & # 8211؛ إلا إذا كنت تخطط للعيش أكثر من 533 عاما، لبقية حياتك. ولكن كيف يمكنك دفع فاتورة الضرائب الخاصة بك؟ كنت مدينون 665،000 $ إلى مصلحة الضرائب ومبلغ الأسهم الخاصة بك هو فقط يستحق 400،000 $. أنت بالفعل استنزفت مدخراتك لمجرد ممارسة الأسهم التي هي الآن أقل من قيمة الضرائب المستحقة لك. تهانينا، فقدت أسهمك الآن 365،000 $ من جيبك الذي لا تملكه، على الرغم من أن تقدر 4X من سعر الإضراب الخاص بك.

ماذا عن إسو؟ الوضع مختلف قليلا، ولكن الخطر لا يزال يرتعش. للأسف، يمكن إيسوس إغراء لكم في هذه الأنواع من الحالات إذا كنت & # 8217؛ لا حذرا. في أفضل الأحوال، إسو هي معفاة من الضرائب على ممارسة الرياضة وضريبة كأرباح رأس المال للبيع. ومع ذلك، من الصعب جدا تحقيق هذه الحالة الأفضل. لماذا ا؟ لأنه في حين ممارسة إسو خالية من ضريبة الدخل العادية، والفرق بين سعر إسو الإضراب وقيمة في ممارسة يتم التعامل معها على أنها & # 8220؛ تفضيل الضرائب & # 8221؛ وخاضعة للضريبة تحت أمت. في الحياة الحقيقية، من المرجح أن تدين 28٪ على الفرق بين سعر الإضراب والقيمة عند ممارسة الرياضة. وعلاوة على ذلك، فإن أي أسهم تبيعها قبل أن تصل إلى سنتين من المنحة و 1 سنة من التمرين غير مؤهلة & # 8221؛ وتعامل على أنها مكاتب الإحصاء الوطنية بأثر رجعي. يصبح الوضع أكثر تعقيدا مع حدود قيمة الخيار للمعالجة إسو، ائتمانات أمت، وجود أساس ضريبي واحد في أسهم لأغراض أمت واحدة لأغراض أخرى. هذا هو بالتأكيد واحدة التي للتشاور مستشار الضرائب.

إذا كنت تريد معرفة ما إذا كان لديك إسو أو نسو (وتسمى أحيانا نسو)، فتحقق من خياراتك الأوراق، يجب أن تحدد بوضوح نوع الخيار.

إيليكيديتي و يجري محاصرين خيارات الأسهم.

أنا & # 8217؛ ليرة لبنانية مناقشة أكثر واحد الوضع: يجري المحاصرين من قبل خيارات الأسهم غير السائلة. في بعض الأحيان يمكن أن تكون خيارات الأسهم & # 8220؛ أصفاد ذهبية & # 8221 ؛. في حالة خيارات الأسهم السائلة (مثلا، في شركة عامة)، في رأيي هذا هو بالضبط كما هو المقصود ودينامية صحية: إذا كان لديك حفنة من & # 8220؛ في المال & # 8221؛ الخيارات (حيث سعر الإضراب أقل من سعر السوق الحالي)، لديك حافز قوي للبقاء. إذا تركت، تتخلى عن فرصة الحصول على أسهم إضافية وتحقيق مكاسب إضافية. ولكن عليك أن تبقي أسهمك المكتسبة عند المغادرة.

في حالة الخيارات غير السائلة (في الشركات الخاصة الناجحة دون السوق الثانوية)، يمكنك أن تكون محاصرين بطريقة أكثر غدرا: كلما كان ذلك أفضل الأسهم، وأكبر فاتورة الضرائب المرتبطة ممارسة الخيارات الخاصة بك. إذا عدت إلى وضع 5 دولارات لكل سهم خيارات في الأسهم بقيمة 100 دولار للسهم الواحد، أنها تكلف 5 $ لممارسة وآخر 33.25 $ للسهم الواحد في الضرائب. الجزء الأصعب هو أكثر انهم & # 8217؛ يستحق وأكثر كلما كنت & # 8217؛ المنجزة، وأكثر المحاصرين أنت.

هذا هو تأثير جديد نسبيا وأعتقد أنه نتيجة غير مقصودة من مجموعة من العوامل: انطباق أمت للعديد & # 8220؛ العادي & # 8221؛ دافعي الضرائب. وما يترتب على ذلك من صعوبات مرتبطة بالأيزو، مما دفع المزيد من الشركات إلى منح مكاتب الإحصاء الوطنية (التي تعتبر أفضل بالنسبة للضريبة على الشركات)؛ والجمع بين ساربانيس أوكسلي وتقلبات السوق مما يجعل الرحلة إلى الاكتتاب أطول وخلق انتشار الأسهم عالية القيمة غير السائلة. وبينما أنا مؤمن بالأثرياء الذين يدفعون نصيبهم، لا أعتقد أن قوانين الضرائب يجب أن يكون لها آثار ضارة بالمصادرة الفعالة لمكاسب خيارات الأسهم من خلال جعلها خاضعة للضريبة قبل أن تكون سائلة وأتمنى أن يتم إصلاحها. حتى ذلك الحين للتكيف عبارة تحفيظ فابر.

هل يمكن للشركة أن تأخذ أسهما المكتسبة إذا استقال.

بشكل عام في الشركات الممولة فك هو الجواب & # 8220؛ لا & # 8221؛. وغالبا ما يكون للشرآات الممولة بالأسهم الخاصة اتفاقات خيارات مختلفة جدا؛ مؤخرا كان هناك قدر كبير من الدعاية عن موظف سكايب الذي استقال وخسر أسهمه المكتسبة. أنا شخصيا ليس من محبي هذا النظام، ولكن يجب أن تكون على علم أنه موجود وتأكد من أنك تفهم النظام الذي أنت فيه. إن النظرية وراء استعادة الأسهم المكتسبة هي أن كنت الاشتراك في مهمة مساعدة بيع الشركة وجعل أصحاب الربح؛ إذا تركت قبل إكمال هذه المهمة، لا يحق لك الحصول على مكاسب الأسهم. وأعتقد أنه قد يكون من المعقول للرئيس التنفيذي أو المدير المالي، ولكن أعتقد أن مهندس البرمجيات & # 8217؛ ق مهمة هو بناء برامج كبيرة، وليس لبيع شركة. أعتقد أن مربكة هذا أمر سيء للغاية، وأنا لا تريد مهندسي البرمجيات أن المحاصرين لهذا السبب، لذلك أنا أفضل كثيرا من نظام فك.

I also think it is bad for innovation and Silicon Valley for there to be two systems in parallel with very different definitions of vesting, but that’s above my pay grade to fix.

What happens to my options if the company is bought or goes public?

In general, your vested options will be treated a lot like shares and you should expect them to carry forward in some useful way. Exactly how they carry forward will depend on the transaction. In the case of an acquisition, your entire employment (not just your unvested options) are a bit up in the are and where they land will depend on the terms of the transaction and whether the acquiring company wants to retain you.

In an IPO, nothing happens to your options (vested or unvested) per se, but the shares you can buy with them are now easier to sell. However there may be restrictions around the time of the IPO; one common restriction is a “lockup” period which requires you to wait 6-12 months after the IPO to sell. Details will vary.

In a cash acquisition, your vested shares are generally converted into cash at the acquisition price. Some of this cash may be escrowed in case of future liabilities and some may be in the form of an “earn-out” based on performance of the acquired unit, so you may not get all the cash up front. In the case of a stock acquisition, your shares will likely be converted into stock in the acquiring company at a conversion ratio agreed as part of the transaction but you should expect your options to be treated similarly to common shares.

Share this:

Related.

آخر الملاحة.

ترك الرد إلغاء الرد.

It’s hard to sell a company if there is a log of acceleration. That could actually be counterproductive for option holders.

Agree, that’s one of the reasons I think it is warranted only in a few specific cases.

What happens to unvested stock in the case of a cash/stock acquisition? (for a generic Silicon Valley VC funded startup)

Lot of it depends (including whether they keep the employees at all). But often they are converted to options in the new company.

What happens if the company is bought before I was granted my options?

In my employment agreement the granting is subject to board approval and that never happened.

I got new options of the acquiring company (at a SHITTY strike price ) , anything to do about that?

Probably nothing to do about it besides quit (though I am not a lawyer and you might ask one if there is a lot of money involved). How long did you work there without the options being granted? Up to a few months is normal, past that is unusual.

I worked there for 6months part time and another 6months full-time.

Basically the board of directors probably didn’t meet to approve the options of the new employees and when it did it discussed the buyout.

I assume that they said to themselves, let’s not grant these options and grant options of the buying company instead.

Ouch. Can you ask/have you asked asked a few questions: 1. Did the board meet during the time after you accepted the offer and started and prior to the acquisition and how many times? Did it review your proposed grant at the meetimg and if not why not? If it reviewed your proposed grant why did it not approve it? 2. On what basis was your new grant determined? Did they convert the grant in your offer letter based on the terms of the purchase or did they just give you stock in the acquiring company as a new employee of that company?

I am assuming your options dated from joining full time, so it was a 6 month delay, not a year?

While I might be popular online for saying they hosed you and they’re evil, situations like this can be complex. It is possible/likely that the board was in serious discussions about an aquisition for a number of months before it occured. This could have been ongoing from the time you joined, or started shortly afterwards but have been in progress at the first board meeting after you joined.

If this was the case, the board may have been in a very hard situation with respect to valuing the stock options. If the acquisition discussion was credible enough, it would be material information that could force a re-evaluation of the fair market value of the shares. To avoid the risk of grantees (you) being liable for huge tax penalties, they would likely have wanted to retain a third party to do the valuation. Hiring the firm takes time, the valuation takes time, and board approval of the valuation takes time. During that time, the discussions might gave progressed – maybe they got a second higher offer. That could restart the clock.

In any case, even if they were able to complete the valuation and grant the options, the valuation may well have been quite similar to the price offered by the acquirer and those options might have been converted to options in the acquiring company at a similar strike price to the price of your grant. So quite possibly what is at issue is whether your grant could have been granted at a somewhat (say 20 or 30%) lower strike price.

If the value of the stock underlying your new grant (number of shares times strike price) is well in to the six figures or beyond, it may be worth consulting an attorney just in case, but my guess (and I am not a lawyer) is they are going to say that you just had bad timing. If it’s five figures or less, I don’t think its worth spending the legal fees for a small chance at a medium settlement.

What I described is the way this happened in completely good faith with everyone involved trying to do what’s fair and legal for you in a complex situation. That’s not always the case, but I’d start by asking.

You’re thinking the same as I do.

Since the company have been planning an IPO and this buyout came in I’m sure the board have met several times since I joined.

I too think that I should have gotten either an approval or decline of my options , neither was delivered to me, hence I believe this is a direct violation of my employment agreement.

My options never materialized, I basically got the buying company options at a strike price which is the share price in the day of the buyout which means zero profit!

I’m getting really pissed here and I think that this might even have legal implications.

This is 5 figures but I think that the determining factor is that I think this isn’t completely legal , I don’t think they can just ignore this term of the contract just because they’re busy or not sure about the price.

My guess is that you make some enemies with this post. It is clearly to the advantage of the company that the terms of stock options and vesting periods remain opaque.

What if there were liquidity in options? That would be interesting, and wildly dangerous, I imagine, because such liquidity would be so predominantly speculative in the absence of knowledge of company fundamentals.

Possible I suppose, but.

Possible I suppose, but only ill advised companies and VC’s that I’m happy to stay away from.

A successful growing company grants millions of dollars worth of options each year, and I think it works to their advantage to have people understand their value and thus make rational decisions about them.

Re: liquidity, the illiquidity of the _options_ stems from the fact that they are subject to cancellation if you quit as well as some specific contractual terms. Your _shares_ should you exercise your stock can sometimes be liquid even before the company is public. That is certainly the case for well known private companies (eg, Facebook), and sometimes is the case for smaller companies as well; question is can you find an investor who wants to buy the shares.

The biggest issue in liquidity of pre-IPO shares is the company’s cooperation in allowing a potential buyer to see the books. Often this will be restricted for current employees but more open for ex-employees. This can be very complex and the SEC has rules about shareholder counts, how the shares can be offered etc.

Hello, I just received an employee stock option that would allow me to buy shares within five years. Do I have to buy the shares right away? or wait until my company goes public or another company (that is currently in stock trading) will aquire us? If I buy the shares now and after 2 years I left the company or they fired me, do I still have the right for my shares? If still have the right for my shares then I’m willing to expend few thousand dollars for it. I really appreciate your advice.

Really sorry for the delayed reply. Usually you have all 5 years. Usually you can buy some now and some later. Tax issues vary, research them carefully.

well written, and easy to understand…thanks very much.

Well written for sure. An scenario I’d appreciate your feedback on. A small company was bought by a larger one and the employee was given her recalculated options. There are 2 years left on this employees vesting schedule. Without any prior negotiation at time of hire regarding acceleration of vesting, is there any way receive acceleration in case of termination?

Unfortunately for the subject of your story, probably not.

Most folks in small companies are employed “at will”. That means that their employer is under no obligation to keep them employed until the end of their vesting period or for any other reason. They can be fired because of a lack of work for them to do, a desire to hire someone less expensive to do the same job, a desire to restructure and eliminate their job, or because the company is unsatisfied with their work. The same holds true once they’ve joined the big company.

Sometimes companies will offer “packages” to employees that they lay off. This is not done out of obligation but rather to help retain the employees who aren’t being laid off – who might otherwise fear being laid off with nothing and instead take another job. By treating the terminated employees nicely, the remaining employees are less likely to panic.

Normally one should expect to vest only as long as their employment continues. The most common exceptions where acceleration can make sense but usually needs to be negotiated up front are positions where the individual is directly involved in selling the company (CEO, CFO etc) and/or is very likely not to be retained after the acquisition.

How do unvested options work post-IPO? Is an IPO an event that can trigger acceleration, or is this reserved for acquisition typically? Can unvested shares be canceled post-IPO?

Usually they continue vesting through the IPO as normal, with restrictions on selling them for some period of time (

6 months is normal) post-IPO.

It is very unusual for an IPO to trigger acceleration. While it is easy to see an IPO as a destination for a startup, it is really the beginning of a much longer journey. An IPO means that a company is ready to have a broader base of shareholders – but it needs to continue to deliver to those shareholders, thus it needs to continue to retain its employees.

Most options are not cancelable other than by terminating the optionee’s employment or with the optionee’s consent. Details vary and there are some corner cases, but the typical situation is if the company doesn’t want you to collect any further options they’ll fire you. Occasionally companies will give people the option to stay for reduced option grants but that is unusual.

By the way when I say “most” or “usually” I am referring to the typical arrangements in startups funded by reputable silicon-valley-type VCs. Family businesses and business that exist outside that ecosystem of startup investors, lawyers, etc may have different arrangements. If you read some of my posts on private equity owned companies and options, you’ll see that they have a somewhat different system for example.

What happens if you exercise pre-IPO stock options (within 90 days of quitting) and the company never goes public?

Then you own shares that may be hard to sell. The company may be acquired and you might grt something for your shares, or in some circumsances you can sell shares of private companies. But the money you pay to exercise the shares is at risk.

Thank you Max! This entire article and your answer to my question has been the best write up on this topic that I could find on the Internet. Thanks again!

Great summary Max, i found it very useful.

wow i personally know someone (well i guess many people do) who lost everything in the bubble and still owed $$$ in tax due to the exercise and hold you described here. he went bankrupt and had to flee out of state but still writes a hefty check to the IRS each and every month.

Excellent…very well explained. Thanks Max.

Great article! I’m trying to learn more about employee stock options. I was granted options 4 years ago and now I’m being laid off so I wanted to make sure I’m taking advantage of the benefits (if there are any.) I received the agreement, signed it, and got a copy of it back signed by the corporate secretary. I never received any other documentation since. The company isn’t doing well, but the options were priced at a penny in the agreement. Should I contact HR or a financial advisor? Just slightly concerned since the company seems a little secretive to me. I have been with them for over 6 years. Thoughts are appreciated 🙂

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you.

Usually after you sign your options agreement, there’s no further paperwork until you exercise.

Usually you have 90 days after leaving until you have to exercise the options, but this varies from plan to plan and the details should be in the paperwork you signed. HR or Finance should be able to help you exercise your options if you want to; If you exercise you’ll pay a penny per share and the shares turn out to be worthless or may turn out to be valuable.

If your instinct is that the company isn’t doing well and the shares will likely not be worth much, the question is whether its worth a gamble. If for example you have 20,000 options at $.01 each, its only $200 to exercise them so it may be worth it even if the odds are against you.

One data point that you will need to finalize your decision is the FMV (fair market value) of the shares for tax purposes. The company should be willing to tell you this; if it is quite a bit more than a penny some taxes will be due on exercise but the shares are more likely to be worth something.

If you can get more specifics about number of shares outstanding, debt, preferences, revenue, cash etc a financial advisor may be able to help; without that they’d would probably be shooting in the dark.

I hope this helps,

Thanks Max, I really appreciate it. After reading your article and doing some research I found out I was looking at the par value, not the exercise price. So in my case, I would be severely underwater. Now I understand! Thanks again for sharing your knowledge!

Max, thanks for the great info. I am considering joining a tech startup and wonder if there are enough benefits for both the company and myself for me to be brought on as an independent contractor vs. an employee? Any info you have or can refer me to would be helpful. Thanks!

Sorry for the delay. There are quite a few qualifications that you must meet to work as an independent contractor; I don’t have them handy but a quick google search might turn them up. If you plan to work there full time for the long term, usually employment makes the most sense – though sometimes companies have more leeway to pay much more money to contractors; if that’s the case and they’re willing to do it and you qualify, it might make sense. But even then, you will probably not get benefits or stock options. Good luck with your decision.

Why shareholder needs to pay again 50% the difference between of subscription price Convertible Prefered Stock (pre-IPO) and common stock IPO price?

The terms of preferred stock vary, not only from company to company but also across different series of preferred stock in a company. I am not quite sure what you’re referring too but it may well be specific to the structure of those securities at your company. A bit of context could help, but the answer is probably going to be some form of “because that’s the rule defined for this form of stock in this situation”.

Very informative post, thank you for sharing! May I contact you off-post for questions?

Sorry for the delay. I may not have time to answer but feel free to try me first initial last name at gmail.

Hi Max – thanks for the insightful article. I work for a private company (PE owned) that’s expecting an IPO in about 12 months. Half of my stock options have vested. I got them at a price of 3 and the current valuation is now at 4.5 or so. What happens if I leave AFTER the IPO but BEFORE the employee lock-up ends. Do I get to leave with my vested (as of departure date) options or do I need to pay the company to buy them at the granted strike PLUS pay the tax on the gains etc. Thanks.

Putting aside any idiosyncrasies of your specific options agreement, typically you have 90 days after departure to exercise. So within that 90 days you need to pay the strike price and you incur a tax liability. Keep in mind the stock could decline before you can sell, so its not just acash flow exposure, you may wind up selling for less than you paid to exercise. Waiting until you are less than 90 days from the lockup ending reduces risk a lot, but I don’t know the opportunity cost to you.

Thanks for the help! Question – I purchased stock and then my company got purchased. by another private company. My understanding is that the main investors lost money on their sale (they sold below what they put into the company). I had common shares, is that why I haven’t seen any payout?

Also, the purchaser then got purchased by a public company…how crappy.

Sorry to hear you didn’t get anything for your shares. Without knowing all the details, it sounds like you’re correct; typically if there isn’t enough to repay the investors, the common shareholders won’t get anything.

Max thank you for the terrific article.

Do you have any experience with seeing employees receive additional option grants with promotions? Is this common or only at key-level positions? I joined the sales team of a 50-person startup at an entry level position about 2 years ago. We’re now at about 100 employees and I’ve been promoted about 1.5 times (first from a lead-gen position to an Account Executive, then after good performance had my quota raised and salary increased, though no title change). I haven’t received any additional option grants but also haven’t asked. Is it reasonable to ask?

Also, say they’ll agree to give me more, what are typical steps that have to happen until they’re officially granted? Is this something that needs to be discussed at the next board meeting, or does the CEO/Exec team have discretion to do this on an ad-hoc basis?

Great question. It is common but not universal to receive additional grants with significant promotions, but there is wide variety in how these are handled:

– Some companies give them shortly after the promotion (approvals take some time)

– Some companies review follow-on grants on a semi-annual or annual basis; people who are promoted are typically good candidates to get them.

– Some companies (unfortunately, in my view) operate on a squeaky wheel basis where they are only given when people complain.

I would ask your employer what the process is to ensure that your stock is commensurate with your current contribution to the company. Without knowing all the details, it sounds like it may not be given the progress you’ve made.

One situation to consider is that if the value of the company has increased dramatically, it is possible that the grant you got earlier in the company’s history for a more junior position is larger than the grant someone in your current position would get today. For example, if when you joined an entry level employee received 1000 shares and an account exec received 2500, but today an entry level employee receives 250 shares and an account exec receives 600. If this is the case, many companies would not give you additional shares to go with the promotion (but would increase your salary). While this example may sound exaggerated, if the company has twice as many employees, grants may be half the size per employee – often the board will think about how much stock should go to all employees as a whole per year, and now there are twice as many to share the same number of shares. Also often the grants for different roles aren’t nearly as precise as I described, but the principle remains valid even if the grants per level are ranges.

Options grants almost always have to be approved by the board.

Good luck; it sounds like you’re doing well at a growing company so congratulations.

Thanks again Max, very helpful.

i got an offer to work for a startup on a part-time basis keeping my full time job at my current employer. i will be paid only in the form of stock options (0.1%). not sure if this is a good deal.

I’d look at it 2 ways:

1. What is the startup ‘worth’? If its an unfunded early stage idea it may be something like $1-2 million, in which case .1% is $1-2k for example. Of course if the ‘startup’ is Twitter its worth a lot more. In any case whatever that value is, is it fair compensation for your time? How long do you have to stay to vest the options? 1 month? 1 year? 4 years? And how much work are you expected to do?

2. How does your stake compare to other participants and their contribution? Did your two roommates found it in their garage two weeks ago and they’ll each own 49.95 to your 0.1? Or are there 100 full time employees sharing 50% and investors share the rest?

the startup is in a very early stage with about 13 employees. the options vest at 1/48th of the total shares every month for 4 years. i think i need ask more details before i start the work.

this is my first time working for a startup so i am not very clear..

I am new to this whole equity & stock options.. your article is the only basis for my reasoning.. I need your help! My company is a Green Sustainable clothes recycling company.. relatively new Green field.. not sure what are the general vesting schedules like.. any advice?

we negotiated $1k / week + 5% vested equity.. initially when i started back in Oct/ Nov.. now that its time to draft the actual contract, they are saying how 1%/ year vesting is standard, while for whatever reason i thought the 5% would vest over 1-2 years.. how do i approach this? as of now company is worth $1 million. we are constantly loosing $, it will take at least 6 months - 1 year until we start being profitable..

does the evaluation of what i think im worth from what the company is worth today, or based on projections of what we will make in the future?

we only have 1 kind of stock.. any provisions you are recommending to include?

can i ask for a provision to protect myself from taxes and have it be deducted from my equity instead of paying for it our of my pocket?

Thank you soo much.

Sorry for the delay. I think 4 years is most common, maybe 5 next most, 1-2 years is unusual. I am not sure what else you are asking. If you are asking about taxes on the equity, if it is options there is typically no tax on vesting if the plan is set up properly (which will almost certainly require an attorney).

The IRS will require cash for your tax payments, they don’t accept stock 🙂

How often should a company revalue their privatly held stock options? Any guidelines around that in the accounting standards?

I am not a tax lawyer but I think for tax purposes the valuations are good for a year. If things change (eg, financing, offer to buy the company, or other significant events) you may want to do it more frequently, and for rapidly growing companies that might go public soon you may want to do it more frequently.

Terrific article thank you !

With startups becoming a global tendency, it becomes complicated to create one model that fits all.

Any thoughts on adjusting vesting schedules, cliff periods and accelerations to ventures occurring in high-risk geographical areas? i. e High-risk understood as high volatility & political unrest.

One thing that I do see adjusted globally is some of the details to fit local tax laws – even US-based companies have to administer their plans differently in different jurisdictions.

I am not expert at all but it may make sense to adjust some other parameters; I don’t know how much they vary from the US. Maybe a reader knows??

Great article, now for my question. Been working for a company 3 years, been vested, for example, 100,000 shares, at 5 cents a share. Leaving company, It looks like the period to exerci se, buying the shares will have about 7 more years. When I leave, how long does one usually, have to buy the shares, if they choose. I am a little confused about the 90days mentioned ealier in the article.

Usually the option period is 10 years but only while you are employed. When you leave, the unvestef options go away and you have 90 days to exercise the vested options. Of course it depends on your specific option plan which may be completely different.

I have some vested preferred shares. I’m not sure if or when the company will be acquired or go IPO. What are my options to liquidate them before any event ?

Your option may be to find someone who wants to buy the stock in a private transaction with limited data. Or it may be that the company has to give permission even if you find a buyer. Trading private stock is difficult. Also if you have options, typically you will have to exercise them before you can sell them.

How would you explain this scenario?

Employee shall be entitled to 25,000 Company common share stock options at an exercise price of $6.25 per common share. These stock options shall be deemed to have been granted January 31, 2018 and shall have a term of 3 years from the effective date granted. These stock options shall remain vested for a period of 24 months in which Employee remains in his current position with the Company.

It sounds like you have between 2 and 3 years in which to exercise them. The vesting language is a bit unclear to me. You may want to get some legal advice, I cannot interpret that clearly.

Let me elaborate on this as I am in the middle of an asset acquisition (a division of the company is being bought) that will close on Jan 31, 2018. I am still trying to understand the language above and below and what my options will be once the transaction is complete. The strike price above given seems a bit high. The division is $5mil and was sold for 7x $35mil. How does this work in terms of an asset being acquired as opposed to the entire company?

“In the event that the Company is acquired or successfully undertakes an initial public offering or reverse takeover, the vesting period relating to the stock options shall be removed and Employee shall have the full and unrestricted ability to exercise the stock options.”

As Twitter is going public soon and I am in the last round of interview. If they offer me a job, will there be any impact to my equity offering if I join before they go IPO or will it be the same after they go IPO? Which will be most beneficiary to me?

Typically people expect the price to increase on I and thus try to get in prior. Predicting what actually happens is hard, for example Facebook went down. But generally joining before IPO is viewed as a better bet.

On the day of my 7hrs in person interview conclusion, HR mentioned that they are not the highest paid company around, they come in like 60th percentile… But their RSU are at great offer. So I am guessing RSU is equal to Stock option they are referring to?

Also, if they offer me RSU/Options, is that something I have to pay for at the evaluation of the company even prior to they going IPO?

Great article, I didn’t know anything about stocks, vesting, options, shares until reading this so it’s helped me understand a bit better! I have been working for a start-up for 5 months and am on the typical vesting schedule of 25% after 1 year and another 6% each month after that. I have been offered just over 5000 shares for .0001.

Our company is expecting to be acquired in the next 90 days so I could end up with no vested options… What happens if we get acquired before I am vested? I am sure there a few different scenarios that could play out depending on who buys us but I’d like to know what COULD happen so I can approach HR about it and see what their plan is. I have read on other ‘stock options explained’ websites that my shares could be wiped out, I’ve read they could be accelerated and I have read they could be absorbed into the new company that acquires us… is that correct? The other thing that complicates it is that our company has a few different products we offer and the one that is getting acquired is the one I work on.. so I’ve heard that when that product/company is acquired in 90 days, our team is going to ‘break off’ and move to a different product (within the same company) and continue on as normal. Does this make sense?

It depends. Typically if the acquiring company does not want to keep you they can terminate you and your unvested options will not vest. If they want to keep you they would typically exchange your options for options in the new company. They will have some discretion in how to do this. Hopefully they will want to keep you and will treat you well.

Hi Max.. great article.. a quick question.. after 4 years in a startup i changed the jobs and bought all my vested incentive stock options. Now after 6 months the company is acquired by another company for cash buyout. Since I exercised my stock options just 4 months ago, will I be not considered for Long term Capital gain taxes? Or can I hold on to my share certificates for 9 more months and then will I eligible for Long term capital gain tax rate?

My strong suspicion is that you can’t wait 9 months. Check with an attorney to be sure, it could depend on the details of that specific transaction but usually they close faster than that.

Interesting article! Question for you: I was part of a startup that was acquired and had ISO’s. We received an initial payout and had a subsequent release of the escrow amount withheld. This escrow payout was received over 1 year after the sale of the company. What is this payout considered? Is it a long term capital gains? We were paid out through the employer via the regular salary system (taxes taken) and it was labeled as “Other bonus” but it was clearly part of the escrow. Also, what about a milestone payout that falls under similar circumstance? Thanks!

I am not a tax attorney so I am not sure. If it came through regular payroll as a bonus my guess is that it is not long term capital gains. If it is a lot of money I would talk to a CPA and / or a tax attorney.

Hi Max – Great article! شكرا لكم. I have a question. I joined a company as one of the first 3 sales directors hired and was told in my offer letter I have 150,000 stock options pending board approval. I have now been working for the company for 18 months and have not received any documentation regarding my options. I am continually told that they will be approved at the next board meeting but that has not happened and I was recently told they would be approved after the next round of funding but that did not happen either. What is happening here and what is your recommendation? Thank you in advance for your assistance.

Something is not right. Sometimes the approval will be left out of a board meeting. With really bad luck you could be skipped twice. There is no good explanation for 18 months. The ‘best’ situation from a they-are-not-screwing-you perspective that I can think of is that the next round of funding will be a ‘down’ round and they are waiting to give you a lower price. But something is wrong with your company and I would be looking hard for something new. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. If the CEO has an explanation that really makes sense feel free to share it and I will let you know what I think, maybe I have missed an innocent explanation but this does not sound right.

Thanks so much for confirming what I was thinking, Max. To my knowledge the board has met several times and our CEO repeatedly states the valuation of our company is going up so I have not heard about a down round. We have had the same original investors for a few years and have recently had a new influx of cash in the form of loan but are still seeking that outside VC investment. I may have another start up offer coming soon and this information will help when I make the decision whether to accept the new position. Thank you again for your help!!

Stock Grant Sizes In Pre-IPO Tech Companies.

Key Points.

If you calculate what percentage of the company you own, you can see how much your shares could be worth as the company grows. You can determine whether the grant is competitive by the percentage of the company the shares represent. Each tier in the organization should get half of the options of the tier above it. Note that it is rare for a stock options grant to someone other than a CEO to exceed 1%. Editor's Note: Although this article was written during an earlier era in the use of stock compensation, the general approach and method that it discusses are still currently used by pre-IPO companies. For more recent data, see the FAQs on stock grants and stock grant practices and sizes in pre-IPO and private companies.

Until it became common practice in the 1990s to offer stock grants to a relatively broad spectrum of employees, most people were content merely to receive them at all. Though stock compensation has been bruised by stock-market trends and accounting changes, employees still welcome equity awards and are more savvy about them than they used to be. They now typically wonder whether the grants they are offered are competitive with what they would expect from another employer in their industry. As more information has become available about the practices and functions of stock grants, employees need solid data on grant practices. Salary researched the trends in high-tech companies during the dotcom boom.

In a startup, it's not how many: it's what percentage.

Particularly in high-tech startup companies, it is more important to know what percentage of the company a stock option grant represents than it is to know how many shares you get. "Don't get caught up in the numbers," said Keith Fortier, a former compensation consultant with Salary. "In a startup, the meaning is in the percentages."

In a publicly traded company, you can multiply the number of options times the current stock price, then subtract out the number of shares times your purchase price, to get a quick sense of how much the options are worth.

In a younger company, where shares are less liquid, it is harder to calculate what your options are worth, although they are likely to be worth more if the company does well than the options you might get in a publicly traded company. If you calculate what percentage of the company you own, you can create scenarios for how much your shares could be worth as the company grows. That's why the percentage is an important statistic.

To calculate what percentage of the company you are being offered, you need to know how many shares are outstanding. The value of a company (also known as its market capitalization, or "market cap") is the number of shares outstanding times the price per share. A startup company might be valued at $2 million when an early employee joins the firm, but attain a value of $20 or even $200 million just a year or two later. Knowing that there are 20 million shares outstanding makes it possible for a prospective manufacturing engineer to gauge whether a hiring grant of 7,500 options is fair.

Some companies have relatively large numbers of shares outstanding so that they can give options grants that sound good as whole numbers. But the savvy candidate should determine whether the grant is competitive by the percentage of the company that the shares represent. A grant of 75,000 shares in a company that has 200 million shares outstanding is equivalent to a grant of 7,500 shares in an otherwise identical company with 20 million shares outstanding.

In the example above, the manufacturing engineer's grant represents 0.038 percent of the company. This percentage may look small, but it translates into a grant value of $750 for the stock if the company is worth $2 million; $7,500 if the company is worth $20 million; and $75,000 if the company is worth $200 million.

Annual grants versus new-hire grants in high-tech companies.

Although stock options can be used as incentives, the most common types of options grants are annual grants and hire grants. An annual grant recurs each year until the plan changes, while a hire grant is a one-time grant. Some companies offer both hire grants and annual grants. These plans are usually subject to a vesting schedule, where an employee is granted shares but earns the right of ownership -- i. e., the right to exercise them -- over time.

Recurring annual grants are usually paid to senior people and are more common in established companies whose share price is more level.

In startups, the hire grant is considerably larger than any annual grant, and may be the only grant the company offers at first. When a company starts out, the risk is highest, and the share price is lowest, so the options grants are much higher. Over time, the risk decreases, the share price increases, and the number of shares issued to new hires is lower.

A good rule of thumb, according to Bill Coleman, a former vice president of compensation at Salary, is that each tier in the organization should get half of the options of the tier above it. For example, in a company where the CEO gets a hiring grant of 400,000 shares, the option grants might look like this.

Rule of thumb: each tier gets half the shares of the tier above it.

Tables 1 and 2 show recent grant practices among high-tech firms that offer annual grants and hire grants, respectively. The data, which comes from published surveys, is expressed in terms of percentages of the company. For illustration, the grants are also expressed in terms of number of options in a company with 20 million shares outstanding. The dataset includes both startups and established companies, especially companies just prior to and just after an IPO.

Table 1. Annual stock option grant practices in the high-technology industry.

Table 2. Stock option hire grants in the high-technology industry.

Note that it is rare for a stock options grant to someone other than a CEO to exceed 1%. (Founders typically retain a significantly larger percentage of the company, but their shares are not included in the data.) To take an extreme example, if 100 employees were granted an average of 1 percent of the company each, there would be nothing left for anyone else.

Ownership percentages at a liquidity event.

As a company prepares for an initial public offering, a merger, or some other liquidity event (a financial moment at which shareholders are able to sell, or liquidate, their shares), the ownership structure typically shifts somewhat. At an IPO, for example, high-profile senior executives are usually brought in to provide additional credibility and management insight. "Wall Street, investment bankers, and the financial community as a whole look at the management team when evaluating an investment opportunity," said Coleman. "Employees who have been there since the beginning are sometimes surprised to see large numbers of options being given out near the IPO, but they should expect it. Although it dilutes their ownership, it's done to increase the value of the company by enticing the highest caliber of senior managers and thus improving the potential of the investment."

The people who design stock option plans anticipate liquidity events by setting aside large reserves of options for these late-stage hires. As a result, the ownership structure of a high-tech company at a liquidity event resembles that in Table 3. Again, the numbers are expressed in terms of both percentage of shares outstanding and number of shares in a company with 20 million shares outstanding. The data comes from published surveys and from analysis of S-1 filings.

Table 3. Ownership levels at a liquidity event in the high-tech industry.

Fortier emphasized that it's important to bear in mind the changes in compensation practices over time. "This data reflects grant practices during the dotcom boom," he said. "I wouldn't be surprised if there were some shift in the makeup of compensation packages in industries across the board." Ironically, however, he said, "It is precisely when the stock market is down, as it is now, that you ideally want to negotiate for more options." (For details on negotiating with stock compensation, see the relevant article series elsewhere on this website.)

Employee Equity: Options.

A stock option is a security which gives the holder the right to purchase stock (usually common stock) at a set price (called the strike price) for a fixed period of time. Stock options are the most common form of employee equity and are used as part of employee compensation packages in most technology startups.

If you are a founder, you are most likely going to use stock options to attract and retain your employees. If you are joining a startup, you are most likely going to receive stock options as part of your compensation. This post is an attempt to explain how options work and make them a bit easier to understand.

Stock has a value. Last week we talked about how the value is usually zero at the start of a company and how the value appreciates over the life of the company. If your company is giving out stock as part of the compensation plan, you’d be delivering something of value to your employees and they would have to pay taxes on it just like they pay taxes on the cash compensation you pay them. Let’s run through an example to make this clear. Let’s say that the common stock in your company is worth $1/share. And let’s say you give 10,000 shares to every software engineer you hire. Then each software engineer would be getting $10,000 of compensation and they would have to pay taxes on it. But if this is stock in an early stage company, the stock is not liquid, it can’t be sold right now. So your employees are getting something they can’t turn into cash right away but they have to pay roughly $4,000 in taxes as a result of getting it. That’s not good and that’s why options are the preferred compensation method.

If your common stock is worth $1/share and you issue someone an option to purchase your common stock with a strike price of $1/share, then at that very moment in time, that option has no exercise value. It is “at the money” as they say on Wall Street. The tax laws are written in the US to provide that if an employee gets an “at the money” option as part of their compensation, they do not have to pay taxes on it. The laws have gotten stricter in recent years and now most companies do something called a 409a valuation of their common stock to insure that the stock options are being struck at fair market value. I will do a separate post on 409a valuations because this is a big and important issue. But for now, I think it is best to simply say that companies issue options “at the money” to avoid generating income to their employees that would require them to pay taxes on the grant.

Those of you who understand option theory and even those of you who understand probabilities surely realize that an “at the money” option actually has real value. There is a very big business on Wall Street valuing these options and trading them. If you go look at the prices of publicly traded options, you will see that “at the money” options have value. And the longer the option term, the more value they have. That is because there is a chance that the stock will appreciate and the option will become “in the money”. But if the stock does not appreciate, and most importantly if the stock goes down, the option holder does not lose money. The higher the chance that the option becomes “in the money”, the more valuable the option becomes. I am not going to get into the math and science of option theory, but it is important to understand that “at the money” options are actually worth something, and that they can be very valuable if the holding period is long.

Most stock options in startups have a long holding period. It can be five years and it often can be ten years. So if you join a startup and get a five year option to purchase 10,000 shares of common stock at $1/share, you are getting something of value. But you do not have to pay taxes on it as long as the strike price of $1/share is “fair market value” at the time you get the option grant. That explains why options are a great way to compensate employees. You issue them something of value and they don’t have to pay taxes on it at the time of issuance.

I’m going to talk about two more things and then end this post. Those two things are vesting and exercise. I will address more issues that impact options in future posts in this series.

Stock options are both an attraction and a retention tool. The retention happens via a technique called “vesting”. Vesting usually happens over a four year term, but some companies do use three year vesting. The way vesting works is your options don’t belong to you in their entirety until you have vested into them. Let’s look at that 10,000 share grant. If it were to vest over four years, you would take ownership of the option at the rate of 2,500 shares per year. Many companies “cliff vest” the first year meaning you don’t vest into any shares until your first anniversary. After that most companies vest monthly. The nice thing about vesting is that you get the full grant struck at the fair market value when you join and even if that value goes up a lot during your vesting period, you still get that initial strike price. Vesting is much better than doing an annual grant every year which would have to be struck at the fair market value at the time of grant.

Exercising an option is when you actually pay the strike price and acquire the underlying common stock. In our example, you would pay $10,000 and acquire 10,000 shares of common stock. Obviously this is a big step and you don’t want to do it lightly. There are two common times when you would likely exercise. The first is when you are preparing to sell the underlying common stock, mostly likely in connection with a sale of the company or some sort of liquidity event like a secondary sale opportunity or a public offering. You might also exercise to start the clock ticking on long term capital gains treatment. The second is when you leave the company. Most companies require their employees to exercise their options within a short period after they leave the company. Exercising options has a number of tax consequences. I will address them in a future blog post. Be careful when you exercise options and get tax advice if the value of your options is significant.

That's it for now. Employee equity is a complicated subject and I am now realizing I may end up doing a couple months worth of MBA Mondays on this topic. And options are just a part of this topic and they are equally complicated. I'll be back next Monday with more on these topics.

Employee Equity: How Much?

The most common comment in this long and complicated MBA Mondays series on Employee Equity is the question of how much equity should you grant when you make a hire. I am going to try to address that question in this post.

First, a caveat. For your first key hires, three, five, maybe as much as ten, you will probably not be able to use any kind of formula. Getting someone to join your dream before it is much of anything is an art not a science. And the amount of equity you need to grant to accomplish these hires is also an art and most certainly not a science. However, a rule of thumb for those first few hires is that you will be granting them in terms of points of equity (ie 1%, 2%, 5%, 10%). To be clear, these are hires we are talking about, not co-founders. Co-founders are an entirely different discussion and I am not talking about them in this post.

Once you have assembled a core team that is operating the business, you need to move from art to science in terms of granting employee equity. And most importantly you need to move away from points of equity to the dollar value of equity. Giving out equity in terms of points is very expensive and you need to move away from it as soon as it is reasonable to do so.

We have developed a formula that we like to use for this purpose. I got this formula from a big compensation consulting firm. We hired them to advise a company I was on the board of that was going public a long time ago. I've modified it in a few places to simplify it. But it is based on a common practive in compensation consulting. And it is based on the dollar value of equity.

The first thing you do is you figure out how valuable your company is (we call this "best value"). This is NOT your 409a valuation (we call that "fair value"). This "best value" can be the valuation on the last round of financing. Or it can be a recent offer to buy your company that you turned down. Or it can be the discounted value of future cash flows. Or it can be a public market comp analysis. Whatever approach you use, it should be the value of your company that you would sell or finance your business at right now. Let's say the number is $25mm. This is an important data point for this effort. The other important data point is the number of fully diluted shares. Let's say that is 10mm shares outstanding.

The second thing you do is break up your org chart into brackets. There is no bracket  for the CEO and COO. Grants for CEOs and COOs should and will be made by the Board. The first bracket is the senior management team; the CFO, Chief Revenue Officer/VP Sales, Chief Marketing Officer/VP Marketing, Chief Product Officer/VP Product, CTO, VP Eng, Chief People Officer/VP HR, General Counsel, and anyone else on the senior team. The second bracket is Director level managers and key people (engineering and design superstars for sure). The third bracket are employees who are in the key functions like engineering, product, marketing, etc. And the fourth bracket are employees who are not in key functions. This could include reception, clerical employees, etc.

When you have the brackets set up, you put a multiplier next to them. There are no hard and fast rules on multipliers. You can also have many more brackets than four. I am sticking with four brackets to make this post simple. Here are our default brackets:

Senior Team: 0.5x.

Director Level: 0.25x.

Key Functions: 0.1x.

All Others: 0.05x.

Then you multiply the employee's base salary by the multiplier to get to a dollar value of equity. Let's say your VP Product is making $175k per year. Then the dollar value of equity you offer them is 0.5 x $175k, which is equal to $87.5k. Let's say a director level product person is making $125k. Then the dollar value of equity you offer them is 0.25 x $125k which is equal to $31.25k.

Then you divide the dollar value of equity by the "best value" of your business and multiply the result by the number of fully diluted shares outstanding to get the grant amount. We said that the business was worth $25mm and there are 10mm shares outstanding. So the VP Product gets an equity grant of ((87.5k/25mm)  * 10mm) which is 35k shares. And the the director level product person gets an equity grant of ((31.25k/25mm) *10mm) which is 12.5k shares.

Another, possibly simpler, way to do this is to use the current share price. You get that by dividing the best value of your company ($25mm) by the fully diluted shares outstanding (10mm). In this case, it would be $2.50 per share. Then you simply divide the dollar value of equity by the current share price. You'll get the same numbers and it is easier to explain and understand.

The key thing is to communicate the equity grant in dollar values, not in percentage of the company. Startups should be able to dramatically increase the value of their equity over the four years a stock grant vests. We expect our companies to be able to increase in value three to five times over a four year period. So a grant with a value of $125k could be worth $400k to $600k over the time period it vests. And of course, there is always the possiblilty of a breakout that increases 10x over that time. Talking about grants in dollar values emphasizes that equity aligns interests around increasing the value of the company and makes it tangible to the employees.

When you are doing retention grants, I like to use the same formula but divide the dollar value of the retention grant by two to reflect that they are being made every two years. That means the the unvested equity at the time of the retention grant should be roughly equal to the dollar value of unvested equity at the time of the initial grant.

We have a very sophisticated spreadsheet that Andrew Parker built that lays all of this out for current employees and future hires. We share it with our portfolio companies but I do not want to post it here because it is very complicated and requires someone to hand hold the users. And this blog doesn't come with end user support.

I hope this methodology makes sense to all of you and helps answer the question of "how much?". Issuing equity to employees does not have to be an art form, particularly once the company has grown into a real business and is scaling up. Using a methodology, whether it is this one or some other one, is a good practice to promote fairness and rigor in a very important part of the compensation scheme.

Coding VC.

Startups and startup investing from the perspective of a software engineer turned VC.

Valuing Employee Options.

Yesterday, I read an interesting exchange on Twitter about how to value employee options. All of it was sparked by this tweet:

Just talked to a startup employee who thinks it would be a good idea to write a blog post about funding round terms versus options.

— Danielle Morrill (@DanielleMorrill) May 13, 2018.

The fundamental question is: if you're joining a company valued $20m and you're getting a 1% equity stake, are you getting $200k in addition to your salary? Kind of, but not exactly. Here are some assorted thoughts on the subject.

Caveat : I'm absolutely not a financial advisor, these are not promises or guarantees, etc. This is just food for thought. Everything in this post is based on my understanding from talking to people and reading a lot, plus some limited first-hand experience. If you think anything below is wrong, please let me know and I'll correct it.

Options and stocks are different.

An option is not the same as a share of stock. Options have a strike price, and they are worth nothing below that strike price. For example, if you have 10,000 options to buy stock for $1 per share, and a share of stock is worth $5 during an acquisition or IPO, you make $4 per option. However, if the stock is worth $0.75 during an acquisition, you make nothing, even though the stock has some value.

Common and preferred shares are different.

Investors get preferred equity in a company, and preferred equity comes with extra rights like senior liquidation preferences. What that means is that if a company exits, preferred stock holders (investors) get paid back before everyone else (founders and employees). This can dramatically change the pay-off for an exit. For example, let's say that over the course of several funding rounds, the founders raised $8m and sold 40% of the company. If the company is acquired for $12m, then investors get their $8m back first -- not $4.8m, which would be 40% -- and then everyone else splits $4m. However, if the company exits for $80m, then liquidation preferences are no longer an issue.

Because common and preferred shares have different rights, they have different prices. For early stage companies, preferred shares are often worth about 3x as much as common shares (see this Quora thread). This is actually good: when you get employee options, your strike price is the common stock price, so if the company does okay but not great, you still have some upside. (For example, if preferred stock is worth $3/share and common is worth $1/share, and the company is sold for $3/share, you'd get $2/share for your options. If your strike price had been $3/share, you'd have made nothing.)

I haven't seen great data on typical outcomes for employee stock options, but I think data on angel investor outcomes is a decent proxy. The best data I've seen for that is from a study called Returns to Angel Investors in Groups.

Here's the key chart:

Basically, more than half of investments fail, 1/3 are small successes (1x-5X returns), 1/8th are big successes (5x-30x), and 1/20th are huge success (30x+). One thing to note is that for huge successes, employees and founders will get diluted over time, so your 1% stake might be more like 0.6% or 0.4% after 2-3 more rounds of funding. In that case, a 50x exit from when you joined will actually be more like 20x or 30x for you. (Which is still an awesome outcome.)

Let's say your 4-year grant is for 1% of a company valued at $10m. An overall estimate of what your options will be worth in 5 years might be something like:

50% chance your options are worth $0.

30% chance your options are worth $100k-$300k.

10% chance your options are worth $400k-$800k.

5% chance your options are worth $1m-$2m.

5% chance your options are worth $2m+

Note that for a 4-year grant, you're basically earning a quarter of the value each year. That is, there's a 10% chance your options will be worth an extra $100k-$200k per year of employment ($400k-$800 total for a 4-year grant).

The time since the last funding round can be useful for estimating what a company is worth. If companies that do well triple their valuation every 15 months, and you're joining 12 months after the last funding round, then that's great! Assuming the company isn't about to fold, there's a good chance the value of your options will 2X or 3X in a few months — at least on paper =).

What does all of this mean?

Stock options are basically a positive-expected-value lottery ticket. The expected value of your 4-year grant might be 2x-3x of its initial value, but with huge variance. If you work at 10 good VC-backed startups over 25 years, chances are that the options from 1-2 companies will be worth a lot, the options from 2-3 companies will be worth a little, and the remaining options won't be worth anything. Overall, if you're going to join a startup to work for the money, you're probably making a mistake — wall street or Google or Facebook are likely better options.

So why work at a startup?

The culture at a good startup is often way better that at a big company: there's less bureaucracy, more fun, more intimate relationships, and a great sense of shared purpose. If you like autonomy, startups are way better than big companies. If you want to find out what you're able to do by being challenged outside of your comfort zone, then startups are great. If you want to be valued for what you've already proven you can do well and don't want to leave your comfort zone, then big companies are great. If you want to feel like you have a huge impact on your company and your company's customers, startups are great. If you like security and stability and the chance to impact a lot of customers a little bit, then big companies are great.

There's no right or wrong answer here, and I hope this post makes the financial side a little bit less of a mystery.

In acquihires, the acquisition is usually structured so that common stock is worth very little or nothing, but employees who are joining the acquiring company get good (or great) retention packages.

Typical dilution is 20-25% during seed, Series A, and Series B rounds, and then drops to 10% or less for larger growth rounds. So 3% just before the seed round might be worth 2.4% after the seed round, 1.8% after a Series A, 1.4% after a Series B, and 1.2% after Series C and D. This might sound like a lot of dilution -- and it is! -- but 3% of a seed stage company valued at $3m is much less money than 1.2% of a Series D company valued at $500m.

It's rare to stay at a company for more than 2-3 years, but options typically have to be exercised and converted into stock within a few months of leaving a job. This can be cost prohibitive, especially if a company is doing extremely well. This creates a dynamic where you're either stuck at a company until they exit, or you can try to sell your equity on secondary markets like SharesPost or EquityZen. Some more progressive companies, like Pinterest, give employees more opportunities to exercise and sell options before an exit. Early exercising when you first join a company can address this problem, but has its own pros and cons. (I want to reiterate: I'm definitely not a financial advisor and I'm not recommending any specific course of action.)