The stock option problem

We just finished putting together a blog post about the DoorDash IPO. In the post, we discuss how much money DoorDash employees left on the table because they didn’t exercise their stock options.

In short, as your company grows bigger and your equity value increases, exercising your stock options also becomes more unaffordable.

This is the big issue with stock options.

Stock options are a beautiful thing in many ways. They are an amazing tool to recruit employees and compensate them. They can motivate employees. And yes, they are an amazing way for employees to build significant wealth.

On the other hand, they can be a major cause of stress for employees. They are confusing and not many people understand them. By the time many employees learn about their options, it’s too late and they end up being stuck in a hole.

This is the problem that Secfi is trying to solve. We’re hoping to provide education and access to all so they can plan around their equity better.

It’s definitely not easy. We’re constantly jumping up and down trying to get people to plan around their equity. It’s goign to take a lot more work than one blog post. It’s a message that we’re going to continue to preach and will take time to get out.