Yes, agreed. He identifies one things that has changed: securities law that now makes it possible to extend options exercise windows past 90 days, whereas previously it was practically impossible. But the bigger thing that's changed is companies are staying private longer.
Ben's strongest point is in asking "Why now?" Options have been this way since the 80s. What's changed? Nobody is examining that as closely as they should. Maybe most of us are young and hubristic and tend to discount the past. But as engineers we should all possess a certain conservatism, a healthy skepticism to changing systems that have been stable for a long time. We must look closely to ensure there are no unintended consequences.
I think it is very notable that Sam Altman said he has revised his position to require stronger incentives to stay. Early stage startups need incentives to stick together as a team. If you don't have any extra protections at the earliest stage, then you're going to have smart, happy employees face the powerful economic logic of leaving to diversify their options portfolio. And that's not good for the value of anyone's options.
> Options have been this way since the 80s. What's changed? Nobody is examining that as closely as they should. ... we should all possess a certain conservatism, a healthy skepticism to changing systems that have been stable for a long time.
The same argument could be applied to the way VCs used to do business with founders (with respect to tactics, terms sheets, etc). Arguably, that was stable for a long time too (but seems to have changed in recent years). It's just a reformulation of "We've always done it this way".
Except those terms were looked at very closely. I haven't heard anyone think through the impact of this on early stage startup turnover. This is introducing a massive incentive to leave that has never existed. It may promote shorter tours of duty.
Ben's strongest point is in asking "Why now?" Options have been this way since the 80s. What's changed? Nobody is examining that as closely as they should. Maybe most of us are young and hubristic and tend to discount the past. But as engineers we should all possess a certain conservatism, a healthy skepticism to changing systems that have been stable for a long time. We must look closely to ensure there are no unintended consequences.
I think it is very notable that Sam Altman said he has revised his position to require stronger incentives to stay. Early stage startups need incentives to stick together as a team. If you don't have any extra protections at the earliest stage, then you're going to have smart, happy employees face the powerful economic logic of leaving to diversify their options portfolio. And that's not good for the value of anyone's options.