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Examples

Offer patterns worth recognizing.

These sample grants show how stage, strike price, preference, and dilution change the story. Open any example in the checker and edit the assumptions.

View sample analysis

Seed

Seed-stage engineer

A large-sounding early grant with real upside and real uncertainty.

Series B

Series B senior engineer

A more mature company with less ownership, higher strike cost, and preference risk.

Late stage

Late-stage product leader

A leadership grant at a high valuation where the IPO path has to do the work.

Downside

Acqui-hire downside case

A positive-looking acquisition where common shareholders may still receive little.

Seed

Seed-stage engineer

Maya, founding-adjacent engineer

Sample

Maya receives a large sounding option grant at a seed stage company. The raw option count looks impressive, but the real question is ownership, future dilution, and whether the company can reach an exit large enough for common shares to matter.

Key lesson

Early stage equity can be meaningful, but only if ownership is real and dilution stays manageable.

Large upside range

Future dilution matters

AMT can appear before liquidity

Net range

$13.5K - $8.2M

Exercise cost

$8.6K

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Scenario outcomes

Acqui-hire

Common downside

$13.5K

At this acqui-hire outcome, your 0.420% diluted stake nets $13,494 after tax and exercise cost, about 1.0 months of salary.

Acquisition

Solid exit

$354.7K

At this acquisition outcome, your 0.420% diluted stake nets $354,744 after tax and exercise cost, about 25.8 months of salary.

Modest IPO

Good public outcome

$2.2M

At this modest ipo outcome, your 0.420% diluted stake nets $2,178,384 after tax and exercise cost, about 158.4 months of salary.

Great IPO

Best case

$8.2M

At this great ipo outcome, your 0.420% diluted stake nets $8,184,384 after tax and exercise cost, about 595.2 months of salary.

Series B

Series B senior engineer

Daniel, senior backend engineer

Sample

Daniel receives a smaller percentage at a more mature company. The downside may be better than seed stage, but preferred preferences and a higher strike price can still reduce the practical value.

Key lesson

Later stage offers can be safer, but the strike price and preference stack matter more.

Moderate upside

Preference stack shapes acquisition value

Exercise cost is no longer trivial

Net range

$0 - $3M

Exercise cost

$35.2K

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Scenario outcomes

Acqui-hire

Common downside

At this acqui-hire outcome, your 0.153% diluted stake nets $0 after tax and exercise cost, about 0.0 months of salary.

Acquisition

Solid exit

$51.9K

At this acquisition outcome, your 0.153% diluted stake nets $51,923 after tax and exercise cost, about 3.0 months of salary.

Modest IPO

Good public outcome

$775K

At this modest ipo outcome, your 0.153% diluted stake nets $775,022 after tax and exercise cost, about 44.3 months of salary.

Great IPO

Best case

$3M

At this great ipo outcome, your 0.153% diluted stake nets $2,969,251 after tax and exercise cost, about 169.7 months of salary.

Late stage

Late-stage product leader

Amara, product leader

Sample

Amara receives a leadership grant at a late stage company with a high valuation. The brand name is strong, but the offer depends heavily on IPO price, strike price, and whether there is still room for valuation growth.

Key lesson

Late stage equity can be valuable, but the upside may already be priced in.

Lower ownership

Higher strike cost

IPO scenarios dominate the value

Net range

$0 - $567K

Exercise cost

$114K

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Scenario outcomes

Acqui-hire

Common downside

At this acqui-hire outcome, your 0.031% diluted stake nets $0 after tax and exercise cost, about 0.0 months of salary.

Acquisition

Solid exit

At this acquisition outcome, your 0.031% diluted stake nets $0 after tax and exercise cost, about 0.0 months of salary.

Modest IPO

Good public outcome

$92.7K

At this modest ipo outcome, your 0.031% diluted stake nets $92,680 after tax and exercise cost, about 4.6 months of salary.

Great IPO

Best case

$567K

At this great ipo outcome, your 0.031% diluted stake nets $567,000 after tax and exercise cost, about 28.4 months of salary.

Downside

Acqui-hire downside case

Leo, startup operator

Sample

Leo joins a startup that later sells for talent value rather than a large financial exit. The company outcome sounds positive from the outside, but common shareholders may receive little after preferences and costs.

Key lesson

An acquisition does not automatically mean employee options are worth money.

Preference can wipe out common

Exercise cost still exists

A sale is not automatically a payout

Net range

$0 - $3.3M

Exercise cost

$12K

Open in checker

Scenario outcomes

Acqui-hire

Common downside

At this acqui-hire outcome, your 0.172% diluted stake nets $0 after tax and exercise cost, about 0.0 months of salary.

Acquisition

Solid exit

$101K

At this acquisition outcome, your 0.172% diluted stake nets $100,952 after tax and exercise cost, about 6.7 months of salary.

Modest IPO

Good public outcome

$884.5K

At this modest ipo outcome, your 0.172% diluted stake nets $884,520 after tax and exercise cost, about 59.0 months of salary.

Great IPO

Best case

$3.3M

At this great ipo outcome, your 0.172% diluted stake nets $3,338,400 after tax and exercise cost, about 222.6 months of salary.

Bring your own offer

Replace the sample assumptions with your grant.

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