Equity is the risky bet 401k substitute (FN1). It would be great if I could trade equity with other engineers to slightly lower the risk of the "all in one company" issue.
It is a myth that I can work longer or harder on demand. If I do have extra energy, I spend it keeping my skills up to date or working on personal side projects (which also keep my skills up). I am definitely not going to work extra for equity just like when I get a 10% raise, I'm not planning on working 10% more time.
FN1: I'm not kidding myself -- I invest post-tax money into mutual funds at Vanguard for retirement.
>> It would be great if I could trade equity with other engineers to slightly lower the risk of the "all in one company" issue.
Yeah, one thing I never understood is that people consider it normal to go "all in" as employee but a big no-no in terms of investing. As an employee I AM investing when I get the equity by working there and taking lower-than-market salary. No one questions or protects me from making that decision. Yet if you want to BUY equity for some startup, you are not allowed to do unless you are Accredited Investor. I think thats just not fair.
>It would be great if I could trade equity with other engineers to slightly lower the risk of the "all in one company" issue.
That's a fantastic idea. It wouldn't really be possible to trade equity without the companies permission, but you could probably trade percentages of future earnings from that equity.
I am guessing ESO Fund is going for bigger fish but maybe one day they'll target the smaller fish. Biggest problem I'm guessing is valuation but if that problem can be pushed to the two parties (the two engineers) doing the swap...
It is a myth that I can work longer or harder on demand. If I do have extra energy, I spend it keeping my skills up to date or working on personal side projects (which also keep my skills up). I am definitely not going to work extra for equity just like when I get a 10% raise, I'm not planning on working 10% more time.
FN1: I'm not kidding myself -- I invest post-tax money into mutual funds at Vanguard for retirement.