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by maerF0x0 1126 days ago
Making it illegal to have the company block/veto the sale of shares would definitely improve the picture. IMO it's a break in property law to have a contract that says "You own the property and have all it's liabilities (like taxes) but you do not have the right to sell that property to a willing, SEC qualified, and able buyer" ...
2 comments

> IMO it's a break in property law to have a contract that says "You own the property and have all it's liabilities (like taxes) but you do not have the right to sell that property to a willing, SEC qualified, and able buyer".

Once you enter into a an options contract with your employer you are bound to the terms of the contract. You can refuse to sign I suppose.

More important though is to understand that the limitations you mention lower the value (increase the risk) of the options.

> company block/veto the sale of shares

Example of this happening IRL? I've seen right of first refusal and tag along rights that make it harder to find a buyer, but nothing that actually prevents sale of vested shares.

As I understood the few contracts I've had they barred me from selling to anyone unless the company approved. That in practice meant I had no liquidity unless IPO or got to sell to investors in the next fund raise round (very very rare).

And think about it a bit further, who's going to go through any due diligence if their research and offer is going to first hit the board/company and potentially completely vanish for them? I certainly wouldnt invest time/resources to see if I wanted to buy shares from an employee to potentially find out the company decided to buyback those shares instead. This property would massively lower the price I'd be willing to offer. (as a compensation for my risk taken)