An Introduction to Stocks & Options
for the Tech Entrepreneur or Startup Employee
About This Book
This comprehensive guide demystifies equity compensation for startup founders and employees. Written from years of Silicon Valley experience, it explains the critical financial decisions you'll face when joining or founding a startup. Whether you're a first-time founder trying to understand how to structure your cap table, or an employee evaluating a job offer with stock options, this book provides the essential knowledge you need to make informed decisions about your equity compensation.
What You'll Learn
- Difference between ISOs and NSOs and tax implications
- How 83(b) elections work and when to file them
- Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) pitfalls to avoid
- Understanding vesting schedules and cliffs
- Early exercise strategies and their benefits
Topics Covered
- Convertible notes and SAFE agreements
- Series A, B, C fundraising dynamics
- Liquidity events and secondary markets
- 409A valuations and strike prices
- Tax planning for equity compensation
Who Should Read This Book?
This book is essential reading for anyone involved in the startup ecosystem: founders structuring their company's equity, employees evaluating job offers, angel investors understanding terms, and anyone considering joining a startup. The concepts explained here could literally be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars in avoided mistakes and optimized decisions.
About the Author
David E. Weekly is a serial entrepreneur and product executive with over 30 years of experience in Silicon Valley. He has founded multiple startups, served as a product leader at companies like Google and Facebook, and has been an active angel investor in over 100 startups. His experience spans both sides of the equity equation - as a founder issuing equity and as an employee receiving it.
David wrote this guide to help demystify the complex world of startup equity compensation, drawing from his extensive experience and the many questions he's fielded from founders and employees over the years.
Want to Go Deeper?
For those seeking even more comprehensive coverage of equity compensation topics, we recommend the excellent open-source guide:
The Open Guide to Equity CompensationThis community-maintained guide covers advanced topics including tax optimization strategies, international considerations, secondary market transactions, and detailed case studies from real-world scenarios.
Start Reading Now
Get the knowledge you need to make informed decisions about your equity compensation.