<aside> ⁉️ Equity can be very complicated and have significant ramifications to your taxes and personal finances. Unfortunately, founders and investors sometimes put employees at a disadvantage by failing to share information about their stock options. For this reason, Ride Report aims to provide as much transparency as possible for our stock options program.
However, this information is not legal or financial advice! We might occasionally be wrong about things, and we can't speak to your particular situation. If you are making a major decision such as exercising your options, consult a financial or tax advisor. We will be happy to provide any information you or they need to evaluate your choice.
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When you join Ride Report, you'll receive stock options as part of your compensation. You might also receive additional stock options for a promotion, equity refresh, or excellence bonus. To learn more about how our stock options work at a high level, see this guide:
Here's what to expect for receiving your stock options:
Your stock options are based on the standard amount given for your position (see Ride Report Compensation Numbers ).
<aside> 📏 Note that Ride Report gives percentage ownership numbers that are fully diluted, which means they are based on the total number of shares Ride Report available to be issued – that is, all stock, all stock options, and all future stock or options we plan to issue before our next round of funding. Many companies choose to give equity percentage numbers using a shares outstanding method, which is based only on the current number of shares that have been issued. This results in a higher % number, but it doesn't fully account for dilution that is already in the company's equity plan.
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You will have the option to choose to trade some of your salary for additional equity.
The exact number of shares you will be granted will be listed in your offer. However, this grant is subject to board approval – so you won't actually receive your options right away. Don't worry though – your vesting schedule (see Stock Options 101) will always start on the day listed in your offer letter!
At 📊 Board Meetings (internal only), which happens quarterly, the board will vote to approve your options along with any that of other employees due to receive them. This means the company is now authorized to grant you your options.
Your options will be issued to you on Carta, which is our tool for tracking and issuing equity. You'll receive an email with details about how to create an account and receive the options.
Once you are set up, you can use Carta to view details about your options. You can also use Carta to exercise your options (see Stock Options 101).
<aside> ❤️ *Our Employee Guide is publicly available and "open source", so that others can use it for inspiration or as the basis for their own guide.
Nothing in this guide should be considered legal or tax advice, mediation or counseling. This guide is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution license.*
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