For hiring, Facebook keeps options open - Valleywag Comments

For hiring, Facebook keeps options open

Love2wagit — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 17:29:12 PST

never ask anyone from UC-Santa Cruz anything, because you can bet they're smokin' something

Love2wagit

For hiring, Facebook keeps options open

sample032 — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 11:16:16 PDT

"The first lesson: Never ask someone with a liberal-arts degree from UC-Santa Cruz a finance question."

So true.

sample032

For hiring, Facebook keeps options open

sample032 — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 11:15:50 PDT

I'm not completely sure on this, but a friend who recently got hired (post IPO) got 3000 options. I would assume someone who started prior to the IPO would have gotten around the same number, but with a ~$30 strike price.

Since Facebook has an IPO in sight a few years from now, they *should* be more generous.

Zuckerburg is also greedy. They probably need to get a real management team, one that works on and values SocialAds before Apps.

sample032

For hiring, Facebook keeps options open

parkerconrad — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 16:32:34 PDT

I think your "financial type" led you astray, for two reasons:

1) It would be foolish for facebook to give away restricted stock at a "zero" price point given that shares are illiquid. Employees would owe taxes on the value of these shares *today*, even though the shares themselves are just funny money until a liquidity event. Not such a great deal for a new hire -- get $100K in funny money, and immediately owe $40K in *real* money in taxes.

2) While restricted stock protects employees on the downside, there is *much* less upside than with options, as employees typically get many fewer shares of restricted stock than they would get in options, and no one's going to get rich off of that.

The smart engineers are probably better off looking beyond facebook to the next big company at this point as, with a $15 Billion valuation, the upside is looking limited.

parkerconrad

For hiring, Facebook keeps options open

suzyO — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 12:32:09 PDT

oh, for pity's sake ... anyone remember FRIENDSTER?

suzyO