You're the first startup employee I've encountered in recent times who doesn't have ISOs. Are you a contractor / consultant who doesn't qualify for ISOs?
To answer both questions in this subthread, I'm a regular W-2 employee. I've been at the company since day 0, and I'm not sure whether all other employees get NSOs or not.
edit: just to make sure I'm not crazy I dug out my option agreement and it's definitely NSO.
The last line I thought about including in my GP post but didn't: "If you're a fulltime employee and you have NSOs, the founders botched the paperwork, plain and simple". As a founder myself, I think that's inexcusable in this day and age.
edit: just to make sure I'm not crazy I dug out my option agreement and it's definitely NSO.