[mavelikara]

  They have a strike price which isn't much 
  lower than the price investors last bought stock at.

Why is this so? I recently became aware of a case where the Fair Market Value of the common stock was only about 7% lower than what the last round of investors paid - preferred stock which, it was rumored in the press, came with a ratchet.

My impression was that the original thesis of the employee options were that common stock is marked down to a significantly lower price than the preferred stock.