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Why I will not exercise my GitLab stock options

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Re: Why I will not exercise my GitLab stock options

#81

Post by ryguytilidie »

OhSoHumble wrote: post #67

I don't know how I feel about this blog post but I think it reflects poorly on both the author and GitLab. I feel that a company should always give feedback to an employee who is let go. Whether it's a simple letter or an exit interview, individuals should have closure when they're leaving a company and it doesn't sound like the author received that feedback. Furthermore, if nobody - a manager, for example - explicit…

I guess at some point we should ask ourselves why "public complaints and these articles are mostly frowned on". I get that we should encourage professionalism, but this code of "don't say anything bad about your former employer" leads to a lot of startups getting away with pretty bad things. I feel like if a company has behaviors exposed and they are ashamed of those behaviors, their reaction should be to fix or eliminate those behaviors, not admonish the person who exposed them.

Re: Why I will not exercise my GitLab stock options

#82

Post by ryandrake »

prh8 wrote: post #56
twinkletwinkle wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>As far as the CMO moving on to github I think the implication was the CMO was fired and that was a poor decision, highlighted by her being snapped up by their competitor.

I've been in a company that repeatedly snapped up employees from a competitor, including the CMO at one point. Often times, it's about the hiring company wanting to steal employees because they think it will bring success (despite not being in a good position for it). It leads to bringing on a lot of people that shouldn't have been, for more money than they are worth.

Would love to know the company :-) $$$

Re: Why I will not exercise my GitLab stock options

#83

Post by lutorm »

chrdlu wrote: post #60
sh_throwaway wrote: post #30

I feel for this guy. I was an extremely early employee at a startup, and when I left I was faced with the decision of whether or not to buy exercise my stock options. Eventually I declined to exercise them. Telling your friends that you don't value the thing you've all been pouring your life into is tough. It feels like you're insulting them. Esp when there's still money in the bank and the investors don't know what…

As elastic_church mentioned below, the firm I work for (The Employee Stock Option Fund: https://employeestockoptions.com ) could help fund the exercise and help cover potential taxes. We aim to give employees upside in the startup without them having to invest their own money.

In exchange for what cut? I looked all over your web page without seeing a number.

Re: Why I will not exercise my GitLab stock options

#84

Post by AvenueIngres »

mixologic wrote: post #9

I didnt really see anything here of any real substance, other than OP strangely thinks that twitter is private, and that the CEO rightly advised him to link to their own product instead of their competitors. I cant really see how thats a "run in" with the CEO. All the other cultural issues he seems to bemoaning are all consequences of growth in a startup. Information flow gets harder with more people. As far as the C…

CEO stalking employees, nothing to see here...

When did this become ok?

Re: Why I will not exercise my GitLab stock options

#85

Post by exclusiv »

barrkel wrote: post #68
mixologic wrote: post #9

I didnt really see anything here of any real substance, other than OP strangely thinks that twitter is private, and that the CEO rightly advised him to link to their own product instead of their competitors. I cant really see how thats a "run in" with the CEO. All the other cultural issues he seems to bemoaning are all consequences of growth in a startup. Information flow gets harder with more people. As far as the C…

CEO rightly advised I don't think it's right at all. What gives him that right? Why is it morally wrong to do otherwise? What kind of right are you talking about?

It was a fair request to have a key member link to GitLab. Employees can be told what to do. You don't have to comply, but when you get a fair request and you make a big deal of it - you have to be prepared for the consequences. Contractors - no you can't do that stuff; you can't tell them when or how to work... they have a lot of protections.

The CEO request to change the link wasn't unreasonable. Why would a CEO want employees that aren't going to be champions of their own company they work for? However, I do think the author made fair requests to the CEO (like hiring Community Managers) and he might have been booted for not "falling in line". That's messed up.

At the same time - he should probably disconnect himself from the emotions regarding the stock options and ask himself if it's a good deal financially. Seems like it to me.

Re: Why I will not exercise my GitLab stock options

#86

Post by nullnilvoid »

nandemo wrote: post #38
owenversteeg wrote: post #5

Anyone who just cares about the numbers: he was given options of 45,000 shares, of which 15,000 had vested. These 15,000, or 0.0833% of the company, were available to him at $0.27/share, or $4,050 total. So he had the opportunity to buy 0.0833% of the company at a $4.8MM valuation. Given that they recently raised $20MM at an undefined valuation it really says something that he chose not to exercise the options. I rea…

> These 15,000, or 0.0833% of the company, were available to him at $0.27/share, or $4,050 total. So he had the opportunity to buy 0.0833% of the company at a $4.8MM valuation. Given that they recently raised $20MM at an undefined valuation it really says something that he chose not to exercise the options. I normally don't comment on HN without having read TFA, but this one is way too long and I just skimmed over it…

Agree. It is dirt cheap. I would have exercised the options anyway given the bad feelings. Bad feelings are the sunk cost. Don't let that affect your future investments.

Re: Why I will not exercise my GitLab stock options

#87

Post by 5thaccount »

ryguytilidie wrote: post #81
OhSoHumble wrote: post #67

I don't know how I feel about this blog post but I think it reflects poorly on both the author and GitLab. I feel that a company should always give feedback to an employee who is let go. Whether it's a simple letter or an exit interview, individuals should have closure when they're leaving a company and it doesn't sound like the author received that feedback. Furthermore, if nobody - a manager, for example - explicit…

I guess at some point we should ask ourselves why "public complaints and these articles are mostly frowned on". I get that we should encourage professionalism, but this code of "don't say anything bad about your former employer" leads to a lot of startups getting away with pretty bad things. I feel like if a company has behaviors exposed and they are ashamed of those behaviors, their reaction should be to fix or elim…

...unless it is Uber, then you can say whatever you want, apparently. The general perception of what is right or wrong is always so situational, and that is weird to me.

I agree with your comments, and I can see the other side as well (keep ones mouth shut because opening it likely hurts the individual the most), it just seems like the arguments are used so situationally, and I don't understand why. Maybe it is in our nature to be inconsistent?

Re: Why I will not exercise my GitLab stock options

#88

Post by onli »

barrkel wrote: post #68
mixologic wrote: post #9

I didnt really see anything here of any real substance, other than OP strangely thinks that twitter is private, and that the CEO rightly advised him to link to their own product instead of their competitors. I cant really see how thats a "run in" with the CEO. All the other cultural issues he seems to bemoaning are all consequences of growth in a startup. Information flow gets harder with more people. As far as the C…

CEO rightly advised I don't think it's right at all. What gives him that right? Why is it morally wrong to do otherwise? What kind of right are you talking about?

Especially if that is his private account, as he claimed. The CEO just has no business messing with that.

Re: Why I will not exercise my GitLab stock options

#89

Post by OhSoHumble »

ryguytilidie wrote: post #81
OhSoHumble wrote: post #67

I don't know how I feel about this blog post but I think it reflects poorly on both the author and GitLab. I feel that a company should always give feedback to an employee who is let go. Whether it's a simple letter or an exit interview, individuals should have closure when they're leaving a company and it doesn't sound like the author received that feedback. Furthermore, if nobody - a manager, for example - explicit…

I guess at some point we should ask ourselves why "public complaints and these articles are mostly frowned on". I get that we should encourage professionalism, but this code of "don't say anything bad about your former employer" leads to a lot of startups getting away with pretty bad things. I feel like if a company has behaviors exposed and they are ashamed of those behaviors, their reaction should be to fix or elim…

That's why I lack surety over the article. At what point is is it considered tactless to speak about why you were let go from a position? Being fired isn't something unusual and I don't think it's something to be ashamed of.

I think it's a similar vein to speaking about your salary in an open way towards your coworkers. Logically, I don't see much wrong with that behavior but it still makes me feel uneasy. Similarly, I can't really say that I have many reasons against speaking against a company post-firing. If my manager held a large meeting so that my firing was a spectacle, then I would create a blog post detailing my experiences because that would be a very cruel way to let someone go.

I didn't feel like the author was whiny or overly nitpicky but something about the article made me uneasy. It could be because I have the wisdom of the aforementioned phrase "don't burn bridges" in the back of my mind. The author is now less hireable because he made his opinion public. A blog post isn't a Glassdoor comment; a future employer knows that they're hiring a liability that may 'squeal' at a perceived, and possibly valid, slight against him.

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