This article is the third in our series on equity-based compensation intended to assist employers with answering a common question: What type of equity compensation award is best for our company and our employees?...more
Consider this fairly typical situation. Four years ago, employee Emma was granted an incentive stock option (ISO) to purchase 100,000 shares with an exercise price of $0.86 per share. Emma’s award is fully-vested and she...more
In this four-part series, we explore several of the most commonly-considered option program enhancements emerging companies may consider as they strive to make their stock option programs as compelling as possible to recruit...more
In the first part of this four-part series, we provided a high-level summary of stock option basics. In this second installment, we build on those basics and begin our exploration of stock option program “enhancements” by...more
This blog is the first post in a four-part series. Part I will provide a high-level summary of stock option basics....more
Given recent market trends, many private companies have seen valuations decline significantly, resulting in an increasing number of service providers holding “underwater” or “out of the money” stock options. As a...more
We are often asked by our private company clients about making changes to outstanding stock options. In some cases, changes to the number of shares subject to an option are needed, or to the vesting schedule, or to the...more
There are a variety of forms that equity compensation can take, but the two most prevalent in the startup environment when the startup is a corporation are restricted stock and stock options. Many new entrepreneurs are...more
Here are ten common questions I receive from clients about issuing equity (stock or options) to service providers (advisors/directors/officers/employees/consultants)...more
From time to time, and primarily when the economy is booming, allowing stock options to be “early exercised” - that is, allowing options to be exercised before they are vested - becomes in vogue. We are in one of those times....more
The House Ways and Means Committee on November 2, 2017, released the proposed Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which may have significant impact on the taxation of equity and performance-based compensation for both private and public...more
Canadian companies and their outside counsel occasionally ask about the ability to grant early exercise incentive stock options (“ISOs”) to limit the impact of the U.S. alternative minimum tax (“AMT”) to their U.S. employees....more