Dave Thornton is the CEO and co-founder of Vested, a platform designed to help startup employees unlock the value of their stock options.
In this episode, Dave dives into the complexities of stock options, the challenges of providing liquidity for startup employees, and how Vested is bridging the gap by offering innovative funding solutions. We also discuss the evolving private markets, the role of secondary markets, and the increasing need for liquidity as companies stay private longer.
Please enjoy our conversation with Dave Thornton.
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The Investipal Podcast is produced by www.investipal.co. Past guests include Meb Faber, Brent Beshore, Peter Lazaroff, Douglas Boneparth, Jamie Hopkins, Tyrone Ross and many more.
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Find Dave Thornton at:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/davejthornton/
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Key Takeaways
The Liquidity Challenge for Startup Employees: As startups stay private longer, employees face significant challenges in accessing liquidity for their stock options, leading to missed opportunities to realize the value of their equity.
The Growing Importance of Secondary Markets: With extended IPO timelines, the need for robust secondary markets has increased, providing employees and investors with alternative ways to access liquidity without waiting for a public offering.
Equity as a Recruitment and Retention Tool: Founders who proactively build liquidity options for employees stand to gain a competitive edge in recruitment and retention by offering a more tangible reward for employees' contributions.
The Complexity of Pricing Private Company Stock: Accurately valuing stock options in a private company is a difficult task due to the lack of real-time pricing, and employees must navigate issues like 409A valuations and the fluctuating value of their equity.