Jordan Long
Sep 7, 2018 · 1 min read

Compelling article Sam, the problems you bring up are very relevant, and the fact is many startup employees are still being given stock options yet are never able to reap the benefits of their stock option program. While you are correct that often times the stocks never actually realize gains in value and this isn’t avoidable, the burdens of exercising along with high associated taxes can be avoided. Third parties such as The Employee Stock Option Fund can help people without the necessary cash stay liquid in the short term while preserving all the potential upside of the stocks. Further, there are ways of reducing those hefty taxes even if you plan to exercise on your own.

See: https://employeestockoptions.com/ways-reduce-stock-option-taxes/