I assume this is in part due to the 10 year expiration of ISOs? Stripe was founded in 2010.
Stripe sets one-year timetable to decide on going public
81–90 of 147 posts
Re: Stripe sets one-year timetable to decide on going public
#82Earlier quoted context omitted.
> And by using Bitcoin to automate all these transactions you get a bunch of very cool features such as constantly being at risk of losing your life savings due to phishing, scamming, hacking, etc., etc. All lies. > unless you store a hard wallet in your intestines and memorize the recovery words (better hope you don't forget any or your life savings is gone!) Lies. Just write them down and store them securely. You c…
This sort of vague handwaving of valid concerns is the definition of noise.
I responded directly to what was said. There's no handwaving, you just don't like my response. Read my other responses in this thread, too.
Re: Stripe sets one-year timetable to decide on going public
#83Earlier quoted context omitted.
Considering so many public, profitable tech companies saw their valuations go down by 50-70% in that same period, that still seems too little of a cut.
Public companies have more external influences on their valuation. It's not like they literally lost 50-70% of their intrinsic value, only what the market with the associated psychology says they are worth. Private companies can stick closer to that intrinsic value.
Intrinsic value involves discounting future cash flows. With rates up that should punish Stripe similar to the rest of the
market.
Re: Stripe sets one-year timetable to decide on going public
#84Earlier quoted context omitted.
Noob question that I am sure is answered many times. What are the catalysts for a private company switching from options to RSUs (double trigger). In my previous role I got RSUs (double trigger), but now at a much smaller startup I have an option package. As an employee RSUs are a bit easier to make sense of, but both are equity instruments at the end of the day. When, and why does that transition happen? Edit this i…
> What are the catalysts for a private company switching from options to RSUs (double trigger). For employees at very early companies that are going the venture route, ISOs are a no-brainer. The company is small enough that the strike price isn't too onerous, the company is too small to hit up against the IRS limits, and they provide pretty good tax treatment under the assumption that the company will grow massively…
Thanks for the in depth write up. Makes a lot of sense!
Re: Stripe sets one-year timetable to decide on going public
#85Earlier quoted context omitted.
> And by using Bitcoin to automate all these transactions you get a bunch of very cool features such as constantly being at risk of losing your life savings due to phishing, scamming, hacking, etc., etc. All lies. > unless you store a hard wallet in your intestines and memorize the recovery words (better hope you don't forget any or your life savings is gone!) Lies. Just write them down and store them securely. You c…
> All lies. Doesn't bother to point out what part of it was a lie (because it isn't a lie) > Lies. Just write them down and store them securely. Welcome to the future of finance, make sure you don't lose your seed phrases written down on paper (it's the future, trust me bro) > Yes, you can't be utterly careless Contradicts saying that I was lying that you can lose your life savings due to phishing, scamming, or hacki…
> Doesn't bother to point out what part of it was a lie (because it isn't a lie)
This "constantly being at risk of losing your life savings due to phishing, scamming, hacking, etc." is a lie. There is no inherent property of Bitcoin that makes you vulnerable to these. Any vulnerability in those regards is an individual issue, just like with the current system. You could mitigate those away with paid services under a Bitcoin standard (which is great because you could actually pick the vendor you thought could do the job best).
> Welcome to the future of finance, make sure you don't lose your seed phrases written down on paper (it's the future, trust me bro)
Perhaps you prefer steel? https://www.amazon.com/Safe-Seed-Stainless-Recovery-Passphra...
> Contradicts saying that I was lying that you can lose your life savings due to phishing, scamming, or hacking, and that if you lose your seed phrases and can't access the wallet then your digital doubloons are gone forever
Fair enough. This is where an exchange comes in. You still have the option to trust a third-party to hold your Bitcoin if you wish. But of course, that comes with its own risks, just like trusting a bank (which can only ever guarantee up to $250K worth of your money under FDIC).
Re: Stripe sets one-year timetable to decide on going public
#86Earlier quoted context omitted.
Noob question that I am sure is answered many times. What are the catalysts for a private company switching from options to RSUs (double trigger). In my previous role I got RSUs (double trigger), but now at a much smaller startup I have an option package. As an employee RSUs are a bit easier to make sense of, but both are equity instruments at the end of the day. When, and why does that transition happen? Edit this i…
> What are the catalysts for a private company switching from options to RSUs (double trigger). For employees at very early companies that are going the venture route, ISOs are a no-brainer. The company is small enough that the strike price isn't too onerous, the company is too small to hit up against the IRS limits, and they provide pretty good tax treatment under the assumption that the company will grow massively…
There's also usually a switch from ISO to NSO somewhere down the line, often fairly early. NSOs aren't capped at a 90 day post-termination exercise window. Some companies have extended the window to as much as 7 years - Pinterest comes to mind. There is a cap, but it's closer to the RSU cap than the ISO cap.
The progression is usually:
- Founders get shares with a re-purchase option for vesting. The company exercises the option if you leave before vesting ends to take back your un-vested shares.
- Next ~100 people get ISOs.
- Next ~2000 get NSOs.
- Then, double-trigger RSUs until the company goes public.
- Then, single-trigger RSUs.
I agree with your general assessment. The difference between options and RSUs usually comes down to upside potential. An option is worthless at grant time (by law, it usually has to be issued at the 409(a)) and it's just the right to buy company shares. If you're buying the shares at the current price, there's no value in that. Options only gain intrinsic value of future appreciation in the underlying equity past your grant date.
On the other hand RSUs are shares of the company, so they are worth at grant whatever a share of the company is worth.
An option with a $10 strike price to buy shares of a company whose 409(a) is $11 has an intrinsic value of $1. An RSU of a company whose 409(a) is $11 has an intrinsic value of $11.
Companies generally, in my experience, give you about 3X as many options as they would shares for the same role. Give or take. Companies usually switch from options to RSUs when they think that growth in the stock price is going to slow down - [edit] (and when they're hiring people with a higher aversion to risk!)
Re: Stripe sets one-year timetable to decide on going public
#87Earlier quoted context omitted.
No. (Channels patio11) As a society we have decided to delegate a bunch of responsibilities to the companies that move money. The most notable one is fraud protection. The companies that make this much money do so by pretending that a transfer of money is a clean, simple, and absolute thing. In reality it is messy, reversible, and fraud-prone. Being able to transfer $1B dollars as easily as you are able to transfer $…
I have been paying and being paid for decades now, and I have never involved a payment processor in a dispute I had with the other side. If arbitration is the reason these companies exists, it seems like bad deal. Maybe they sell an illusion?
"I have never been owned by another person, so there is no need for a law against slavery."
The world is full of services, valuable, difficult to provide services, that a given person will never consume. Doesn't mean no one else does.
Re: Stripe sets one-year timetable to decide on going public
#88Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Private companies can stick closer to that intrinsic value It's normally the opposite. Public markets are a lot better at judging intrinsic value than a handful of VCs. Every single private company out there is either wildly over or under-valued, more so at earlier stages.
Not to mention, VC valuations have all sorts of hidden stipulations such as liquidity preferences which skew headline private valuation numbers unnecessarily high. Public markets have a full view of the cap table and can better evaluate price w/o hidden tricks.
Plus, all VC investors have every incentive to juice the valuation after they have bought in.
They don't have short sellers seeking out reasons to tank it like the public markets do.
Re: Stripe sets one-year timetable to decide on going public
#89Re: Stripe sets one-year timetable to decide on going public
#90Earlier quoted context omitted.
EquityZen had an offer to buy last week at a $75B valuation / $32 per share.
> EquityZen had an offer to buy last week at a $75B valuation / $32 per share That's wildly off market, like 30%+. That's high, even for a retail platform.
What do you mean by off market? Are you saying the value should be 30%+ higher or lower, and how did you get that?
Obviously the usual kind of market isn't applicable here, so I'm curious what you mean.