True. I'm much less willing to be paid partly in startup monopoly money now...
Agreed. Especially when someone else controls the board (pun intended) and your chances of landing on someone else's 4-hotel Park Place are high. (Wait, weren't there only 12 hotels in the game? Why does every property, even fucking Water Works, have 3 or 4 of them?)
Then there's cliffing. Community Chest => "Fired on day 364. No equity. No severance. No-name company. Fucked reputation. Here's a Revolver. Wait, wrong game. That's Clue, which you don't have. Do not collect $200." Employees can get cliffed, but if a founder tried to "cliff" an investor he'd Go To Jail for fraud.
My brother and I created a version of Monopoly called "Mad" Monopoly, where all of the cash (minus about $2000) was divided evenly between the players at the start, all properties could be developed as soon as they were purchased (no need to own the set), and you could build up to 4 hotels on any property (including utilities).
All rents were calculated by extrapolating the original rents, and you could engage in loans at arbitrary interest rates with other players.
I'm amazed how much this crazy game resembles the current world economy, and I'm convinced that the current economical power-brokers have the same attitude to real money as my brother and I had to Monopoly money when we were 10 or 11.
If this happens (and it's really cliffing, meaning 85% or more of a vesting period, not half-way) -- and assuming your options or stock would have significant value -- hire a compensation lawyer. You might get something; without a lawyer on your side you will get zip for sure.
I'm not sure why you're so negative on the whole startup thing - while there are examples of foul play, the vast majority of founders do try to do right by their employees.
> the vast majority of founders do try to do right by their employees.
Absolutely. But, barring the true home-run success stories, the vast majority of founders lose effective control of the financial dealings of the company by the time they sign the Series A.
Agreed. Especially when someone else controls the board (pun intended) and your chances of landing on someone else's 4-hotel Park Place are high. (Wait, weren't there only 12 hotels in the game? Why does every property, even fucking Water Works, have 3 or 4 of them?)
Then there's cliffing. Community Chest => "Fired on day 364. No equity. No severance. No-name company. Fucked reputation. Here's a Revolver. Wait, wrong game. That's Clue, which you don't have. Do not collect $200." Employees can get cliffed, but if a founder tried to "cliff" an investor he'd Go To Jail for fraud.