I got an offer for a series B PM role. Cash is 180k, but the paper equity seems a bit low. Total equity vesting over four years minus strike price at current valuation (which is already too high IMO) is under $30k a year. On top of that they used 2021 to 2024 ARR growth ration multiplied with 2021 funding valuation to determine current valuation. Is this normal? How much is the norm I should ask for? Current TC 230, 5 yoe #equity #startup #offer
How do you calculate TC when options are involved? I maybe wrong but we’ll have to buy the stock at the strike price from our own money.
pass
Whatever you get, startups always fk with you.
They should have a current 409A valuation that you should ask for. Make certain they give you information on total shares and liquidity preferences for their investors. If they clam up, big red flag. Check on Carta for the % ownership that you should expect (they have a dataset for different employee levels and company sizes). Use these as your baseline. You should also ask for more than you’d get at a typical public company for taking the additional startup risk and illiquidity. Using 2021 multiples is nonsense - everything has been repriced for higher interest rates - Damodaran maintains a current public comparables dataset with valuation multiples and others (Carta, etc) have info on private rounds. Also, try to avoid places with options and go for double trigger RSUs - options cost money to exercise at places that don’t treat it as cashless and you’ll immediately be hit with phantom income tax (tax on the value of the option value less strike bc that is treated as a gain even if it is totally illiquid).
This. Ask for the most recent 409A filing. My spouse exercised his options from a then Series D after he was laid off. He may as well have burned the money because that company is now a Series E, has been in business for 13 years, has yet to be profitable and is no where near an exit
Glinda if I may ask how much your spouse spent in exercising ?
If you take up this offer, can you refer me to backfill your role at Mastercard!
Don’t come to Mastercard lol, but sure if you must
Depends if rsu or options. I got 220k plus 650k rsu over 4 in 2022 (laid off later) and 200 plus 150k rsu in 2023 as dir of accounting. Both offers at series c with ~100-150m arr companies in sf. Just ask for ridic amount and see what they counter with - its paper money for them like u said