Anyone work for a Pre-IPO company?

[dejr_8]

I am getting a job offer from a Pre-IPO biotech company and want to get some tips on how to evaluate the offer in terms of the number of stock options they might offer.

With the public companies I have worked for it was easy to determine if the stock options where a good number or not. But when it is Pre-IPO how do you know?

Should the number of options be in the 100s, 1000s, or 10,000s range.

TIA

 

[Loubon]

Sent you a PM because this is a looooong answer.

 

[dejr_8]

going once ... anyone else care to comment

 

[Kermit]

In my experience, it doesn't matter because none of the companies we've tried have ended up making it. DH has tried new companies a few times, and all of them have sounded promising, but they've all fallen through at one point or another.

The salary is the most important thing, like with any job. As well as more concrete benefits, like health insurance and vacation time. Even if you get your options and they are valuable, there's no telling if you'll still be around when you're fully vested. You may never get to exercise them.

Sorry to focus on the downside. I know that some companies do succeed. That's why we've taken chances in the past. Someday we may get lucky and make a fortune. But until then, it's nice to know that we can put food on the table. Even that was questionable at one point at a company that offered an amazing hourly wage, but we had to beg and plead to get them to actually give us a paycheck.