“As an aside, some companies now write in a repurchase right on vested shares at the current common price when an employee leaves. It’s fine if the company wants to offer to repurchase the shares, but it’s horrible for the company to be able to demand this.”
What can you do about it? Ask before you join:
“Can the company take back my vested shares?”
For more from Sam Altman, see his post, Employee Equity. For more on questions to ask to make sure you have true startup equity, see our post, Startup Equity Standards - A Guide for Employees.
Attorney Mary Russell counsels individual employees and founders to negotiate, maximize and monetize their stock options and other startup stock. You are invited to contact Stock Option Counsel for help in negotiating and evaluating your job offers and post-acquisition employment agreements, making stock option exercise and tax decisions and identifying your rights and opportunities to sell startup stock.