[kalbfled]

This pitch reminds me of those commercials for weed whackers where people are shown acting like replacing the string is on the level of rocket science.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p22T3ZypQtA

After I left my last job, I had 3 months to decide if I wanted to exercise my options. I looked at the company's financial statements, compared them to publicly traded competitors, and made my decision. If I needed tax information, I would have gone to the IRS website and called them if necessary. (In my experience, they try to be helpful despite the hate they receive.)

I wish you guys the best of luck, but ultimately your revenue model seems predicated on the same strategy as the rest of the financial industry--presenting a good marketing story to attract other people's money. Nobody has a crystal ball.

[dnjdrbdhdbs]

To some people, what you just described reads no different from Lebron James saying “dunking is as simple as shoving the defender out of the way, jumping above the rim and jamming the ball down into the net.”

[kalbfled]

That's a fair comment, but I'm certain I don't possess Lebron-like ability when it comes to equity analysis. For me, the moral of the story is that people should go to the source material--contracts, laws, etc.--rather than operate on tribal knowledge. I'm sure some people would find this service useful, but will it be enough to sustain a business? Time will tell.

[situational87]

I think you got pretty lucky, I have been screwed out of my options twice now by shitty founders. God help you if the startup is successful and profitable, that just means they will get the really good lawyers to claw back equity by any means.

[kalbfled]

The company was not profitable, and I decided not to exercise my options. It was an eye opening experience when I started trying to look at the company objectively without the startup Kool-Aid flying around.

I get the impression that it is indeed all a very vicious game. Since I left, the remaining co-founder has been pushed out.

[Grustaf]

We had an incentive programme consulting company for several years. Trust me, most people, including financial professionals, had a very hard time understanding even the most basic options programmes.