[loumf]

One thing to ask an accountant about:

The Series A price might not be the one to use. They paid for a different class of stock than you have, with probably a lot more privileges and therefore a higher price. You might be able to base your valuation on whatever the internal company valuation is (probably being done by the company to set future strike prices) -- especially if what you have is an option on common.

Even so, I would personally not exercise (I am not an accountant) because 10 years is probably enough of a window.

[lostdog]

Right, the funded valuation is different from the valuation the IRS cares about, the Fair Market Valuation (FMV) or 409a. The amount of AMT you owe is determined by the FMV, which probably hasn't risen much if at all, so you may still be able to spend only the cost of the shares.

That said, $15k is a lot to throw at something that will probably fall apart in the next 9 years.