I've recently left a company and am within my 90 day window to exercise my options.
It feels much more like playing roulette than making an investment. I have no idea if there will be a liquidation event at all, nor do I know how much that'll end up being if I can hold on for that long. Oh, and I'll be paying taxes on those shares all along the way (assuming the value goes up, which is another uncertainty).
The odds of coming out on top are not in my favor -- and I've chosen to not exercise my options. I came to this decision based off
a) plainly looking at the odds -- the company isn't going to be a unicorn no matter what bullshit the founder and investors are spouting
b) given a non-unicorn style exit, the cash these stocks would earn me probably wouldn't be significant anyway.
We live in an age where not only are investors letting themselves be taken for a ride, but the employees are as well. I'm now concerned with salary exclusively in my negotiations -- I can take an that extra $XXk per year and put it into the stock market with more reliable results.
It feels much more like playing roulette than making an investment. I have no idea if there will be a liquidation event at all, nor do I know how much that'll end up being if I can hold on for that long. Oh, and I'll be paying taxes on those shares all along the way (assuming the value goes up, which is another uncertainty).
The odds of coming out on top are not in my favor -- and I've chosen to not exercise my options. I came to this decision based off
a) plainly looking at the odds -- the company isn't going to be a unicorn no matter what bullshit the founder and investors are spouting
b) given a non-unicorn style exit, the cash these stocks would earn me probably wouldn't be significant anyway.
We live in an age where not only are investors letting themselves be taken for a ride, but the employees are as well. I'm now concerned with salary exclusively in my negotiations -- I can take an that extra $XXk per year and put it into the stock market with more reliable results.