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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

#71

Post by Retric »

danaliv wrote: post #41
princekolt wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The cherry on top of this disastrous situation was that throughout the entire process I only heard good things from my manager. In total I had 3 1-on-1's with him, and even though we discussed the situation and what was wrong multiple times, he never, for one moment, gave me the impression that my job could be in jeopardy. A few weeks later I was fired. This doesn't look like a company that takes direct criticism s…

Then don't waste your time. The point is, a public post like this reads badly.

I disagree, I am more likely to hier the guy after reeding this post as I want someone to know when they need help. And more importantly be willing to speak up.

Re: Why I will not exercise my GitLab stock options

#72

Post by barrkel »

vinceguidry wrote: post #19

As companies grow, their politics changes. It's a fact of life. You want to keep working at a startup, quit and go find a job at another startup. If this bitch-fest affects his career at all, it won't be in a good way. I've seen more than one developer lose their jobs over politics. One guy, I've seen sabotage job after job over his idealism. I try to help him but you can't teach political savvy to an unwilling stude…

Identity trumps economics. Idealism is a political position; it's just not an economically rewarding one. It can feed the ego, though, and taking the other road - sacrificing principles for money - may lead to more net unhappiness.

Re: Why I will not exercise my GitLab stock options

#73

Post by shirleman »

stevejohnson wrote: post #64

Whether the substance of this is true or not, it seems unwise to have posted it. It probably felt good to write, but now there's a real risk that future employers will perceive it as a negative signal. ("If we hire this guy, will he air all our dirty laundry in public if it doesn't work out?") I have thoughts about whether his perceptions are accurate, but I mostly just want to say: kids, if you're thinking of writin…

Yeah, definitely a possible CLM here. I still am glad that things like this exist because I was part of a great startup with an awesome culture that became toxic. If it can help others not go that route, all the better for it.

Re: Why I will not exercise my GitLab stock options

#74

Post by neltnerb »

hdhzy wrote: post #18
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…

I think the run-in referred to something different than the tweet. > After the run-in happened, I decided to lay low and focus on the job. I even stopped posting on Twitter, because the CEO already had questioned me about what I was writing.

From my reading of it, it was referring to OP's disagreement about the Service Engineer team taking on correcting the internet whenever someone is wrong about GitLab with a staff of five people.

I still think they should have just taken the options... the idea that with a current $100M valuation they won't end up being worth at least $5M doesn't seem justified based only on just these anecdotes. I assume the contract didn't allow resale of the options to a third party.

Re: Why I will not exercise my GitLab stock options

#75

Post by hkmurakami »

pfarnsworth wrote: post #66
hkmurakami wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A $20MM raise suggests a $100M valuation or so. That's a 20x increase in the stock price. OP's outlay would be something like $4000 + $35000 (state tax + short term capital gains. Less depending on how he hits AMT.). I don't think that's trivial, even if I'm off by a factor of 2.

It's the 409A valuation, not the funding amount, that matters. 409A value is usually much much less than the funding round.

That'll apply to the strike price as well as the current "valutation", so the multiple factor between the two valuations should be around the same regardless (a strike price of a non trivial number like $0.27 suggests that a 409a valuation was already in place to price the options)

Re: Why I will not exercise my GitLab stock options

#76

Post by AvenueIngres »

gkoberger wrote: post #24

As someone who knows the CEO of GitLab, I can say nothing but amazing things about him. (Even reading through this article, you'll find nothing in it that casts a negative light on the CEO.) I'm sure there's a ton left out, and this seems like a bitter hit piece rather than a well-thought-out, balanced critique of a company.

I follow GitLab's CEO posts with attention when he comes on HN. However, this post reflects terribly on GitLab's culture. I don't think anyone would want to dedicate time and energy into a company that squeeze their employees' creative energy just to leave them behind, dry, and without nothing but their eyes to cry. Loyalty must go both ways.

Obviously, this only tells one side of the story, I'll be curious to hear what GitLab has to say about this. Or maybe they'll refuse to comment. Who knows. Right now, taking this story at face-value, this is sickening.

Re: Why I will not exercise my GitLab stock options

#77

Post by shirleman »

arjie wrote: post #17
habitue wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Usually companies have a clause where they have the first right to buy the stock options back before you offer them for sale to anyone else. Employee stock options are sort of intended to be NODROP, and if they want to make shares available on like second market, they need to create a pool of shares specifically for that.

And when they exercise that right, they'd be able to buy them back at the strike price?

Yes. ROFR (right of first refusal) are almost always at the price of the shares purchased. This prevents people from just selling their shares on secondary markets without company permission. I don't love it but you are correct, that is how it works

Re: Why I will not exercise my GitLab stock options

#79

Post by andrewbinstock »

danpalmer wrote: post #28
gkoberger wrote: post #24

As someone who knows the CEO of GitLab, I can say nothing but amazing things about him. (Even reading through this article, you'll find nothing in it that casts a negative light on the CEO.) I'm sure there's a ton left out, and this seems like a bitter hit piece rather than a well-thought-out, balanced critique of a company.

> Even reading through this article, you'll find nothing in it that casts a negative light on the CEO. I definitely got a negative light about the CEO from this, and that doesn't include the poor culture which is arguably the CEO's responsibility.

>...which is arguably the CEO's responsibility.

...which is unarguably the CEO's responsibility. FTFY.

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