At many companies, particularly in the tech world, equity compensation is a crucial element in attracting and retaining top talent. However, the way that companies structure the terms of their equity plans can impact how valuable the grants are for recipients. As companies compete for the best workers, adopting employee-friendly terms can help them maximize…

As pre-IPO shares become more recognized as valuable assets, there are several offerings now available in the market for individuals to get access to early liquidity. We don’t provide loans at Liquid Stock, but we’ve observed this solution potentially reemerging as an option for private company equity-holders in the marketplace as the void left by…

Recently, there has been a surge of interest surrounding OpenAI’s viral employee compensation packages. These packages notably incorporate equity grants known as profit participation units (PPUs), and are sparking widespread curiosity across Silicon Valley. If you’re interested in learning more about PPUs and other types of equity grants more commonly seen at private companies in…

In a recent blog, we dove into what exactly a Rule 701 disclosure is, and how it can help startup employees evaluate the value of their company’s shares. Similar to a Rule 701 disclosure, a 409A valuation can offer insightful information on your company and the broader market. We often speak with employees who want…

In today’s economic climate, more private company employees may turn to liquidity providers to help generate cash and maximize their net worth. And as a leading liquidity provider, we frequently receive questions from these employees about how private stock liquidity and option-exercise transactions work and why you may want to work with a liquidity provider.…

So, are you finally ready to exercise your options, become a shareholder and start the 12-month long-term capital gains holding period? If so, that’s something to be excited about! It’s a relatively straightforward process, but there can be pitfalls along the way. Here are three things to watch out for to keep your journey to…

In periods of prolonged economic volatility, many companies will have to consider cutting costs – in some cases, this could result in downsizing. In a recent PwC survey of more than 700 executives across a range of industries, half of the respondents surveyed “said that they’re reducing headcount or plan to.” Leaving a company is…

Over the past several years, private company liquidity programs have grown increasingly more common, especially among venture-backed startups. Employees at startups will often forgo a higher salary in place of stock options or some other form of equity compensation. However, stock options or company shares alone do not help employees achieve life-long financial goals, like…

April is financial literacy month. As an organization committed to creating solutions to the financial challenges posed by stock option compensation, we’d like to address some of the common misconceptions we’ve come across in our line of work. Among the numerous financial structures that employees can benefit from, we acknowledge that many employees do not…