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When someone is screwing you, they never say "ha, ha" until the very end when they think they've gotten all they can. Before that, this is some temporary instability, this is an important time, don't you trust me, it's coming, we're waiting on the lawyers, that language is boilerplate, this is how the business works, you don't understand the nuances, etc. Stop listening to what they say, look at what they do. Either they do or do not produce a stock options contract and make good on their other promises -- and I'm sure there have been a few that have been delayed "for now", right? And I bet that either this company has the founder, one or two of his very old buddies, you, and maybe another worker or two - or there's the founder, his buds, and a 1-3 dozen people with 95% turnover every few months. Your founder sounds like a sociopath, someone who lacks a conscience and will say anything they think they can get away with manipulate people into doing what they want. Read the book The Sociopath Next Door, it's a decent intro (skip the bunk "origins of conscience" chapter) - until you realize they literally can't be like a normal person, you'll keep thinking they'll make good on their promises and the golden future they've described will arrive. I worked at a startup owned by a sociopath for most of a year. There were some huge promises and I was excited to be part of it. Except that sometimes the founder was a huge jerk sometimes, except the business didn't feel quite right, except agreements never worked out like I understood they would. I finally realized something was badly wrong when, instead of the long-promised stock options, they offered employees the opportunity to invest their own money in the company. That was fishy enough, and when I went to do it and found out the CEO would hold stock 'in care of' employees. Just a legal formality, the lawyers said it had to be this way for anyone investing under $X. When a few folks asked about investing more than $X, they were privately told a different reason they personally had to accept this assignment scheme to buy in. The company was all friendly and nice (unless you wanted promises fulfilled, then you'd get pulled into the stairwell or out into the parking lot and yelled at until you were back in line) but nothing ever quite seemed to happen as promised for reasons that were plausible on their face. So take stock: what's happened as promised? I see in other comments you haven't been paid, that puts you in a great negotiating position as you own the copyright to everything you've built. But this isn't some bump in the road you'll fix and get on with: as soon as they have copyright you won't be a team player, you'll be canned, your options will be revoked by subclause 2.4.c(iii), they'll hire some . Have your lawyer draft an agreement that you give them copyright when a check for $X clears, and find a good startup or start your own business. They've been screwing you for a year to great effect, why would they change strategy? |