Yes, extended exercise window is preferable, but that also means the ISOs have to be converted into NSOs, which are less tax favorable assuming an exit happens. So while flexibility is nice, it's not a free gift either.
What you can control though are:
1. Knowing your exercise cost in advance - sometimes you can negotiate for a bonus that can subsidize the cost
2. Getting a fair salary and equity cut based on the funding stage; even if you don't exercise all your equity, your package can at least be used in future negotiations: https://topstartups.io/startup-salary-equity-database/
3. Asking for the option to extend exercise windows if you choose, turning ISOs into NSOs
That’s what I would’ve expected too. But having spoken to many local retailers and seen sales trends, it’s the opposite. COVID has been a challenge for all, but local retailers have been uniquely resilient, using online channels like IG and Shopify to meet customers where they are.
Wariness of crowds is also not going away. A local retailer is likely to draw a smaller crowd at a given point in time than big box counterpart.
You are right. But the initial spark often comes from one person, think of Westinghouse and Tesla. Tesla was the technical genius yet he needed Westingshouse economical/financial power-networks to get parts of his ideas through.
Therefore AC power is undoublty a Westinghouse/Tesla/ many others accomplishment yet without the relentless pushing and originality of one person (Tesla) to step out of the giant Edison AC would not have come a reality at its time.
So I think we see two things here: Ingenuity and true novel approaches are (according to my observation) very often the think of one passionate person, the societal breakthrough requires hands and ties working together.
As the second requires the first yet we as a society overemphasize on teamwork already in step one, we are actively hampering innovation. See https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24374363
Very cool example. Agree with your point. What I meant by history isn’t actually made by singular heroes is that simultaneous innovation tends to be the norm. Not sure if that applies to the Tesla example, but for most other iconic moments like the lightbulb, there were dozens of people who independently arrived at the same invention.
Point 2 is about figuring out a position that the competitor is unlikely to want to steal. Maybe it’s not attractive to steal today, maybe it’s diametrically opposed to their core business, maybe it’s not something they can execute on, etc.
Not at a large firm. :) The article’s not meant to be a blanket policy, just arguing that doing more of the same results in... more of the same. Some company cultures are more open to this than others
I need to stick around for at least a year. The tech I became an expert in is obscure, so there aren't any opportunities for me (FileNet, Neoxam). If I can get better at this new stack (AWS, Python, relearn Java) then I'll have the option to leave.
Oh interesting. I was trying to express that the mentality of competition constrains us to what’s already been done. That’s why it’s harmful. Carving out a piece of the future requires a different perspective, ideally one that’s hard for the incumbent to replicate.
> I was trying to express that the mentality of competition constrains us to what’s already been done. That’s why it’s harmful.
That doesn't seem to me like a mentality of competition. It seems to me like a mentality of just going with the status quo. Competition in no way requires going with the status quo. If you can out-compete others by changing the rules, competition tells you to change the rules. David was competing with Goliath; David won the competition by changing the rules.
To the extent competition is harmful, it's harmful because, as noted at the start of the article, it tends to foster a zero-sum mentality: the only way I can win is for you to lose. But creating wealth, which is what "competition" is ultimately supposed to be about in the economic sense, requires positive sum exchanges. Positive sum means everybody wins. That's what I was expecting the rest of the article to be about; but it isn't. It's just about a different kind of zero sum, where you make the competitors lose by changing the rules instead of by playing better than them within the existing rules.
Competition is often interpreted as going toe-to-toe rather than rethinking the game.
As for positive-sum, Shopify has provided that. By making it easier for entrepreneurs to start a online store, they’ve created another distribution channel for them beyond the Amazon status quo. They chose the opposite of aggregation.
> As for positive-sum, Shopify has provided that. By making it easier for entrepreneurs to start a online store, they’ve created another distribution channel for them beyond the Amazon status quo.
Is the expectation that this will end up creating more online business overall, or that Shopify will just end up taking some portion of Amazon's existing business?
The former is positive sum. The latter is not--whatever Shopify gains, Amazon loses.
Hopefully this is within the scope of what you can cover:
- My employer will sponsor my green card (EB3) which I'm hesitant to take given the lower priority. I also don't want to be tied down to the employer. How flexible are EB2 and EB1 criteria?
- I currently am on TN and have H1B (but haven't activated yet)
That will depend in part of your country of birth. For many people, an EB3 isn't a long wait and at a minimum, establishes a priority (place in line) for other green card filings for the same company or a different company. Whether you would qualify for the other classifications will depend on the work that you do and your qualifications: education, experience, and achievements. Oftentimes, the EB3 is the only option.
What you can control though are:
1. Knowing your exercise cost in advance - sometimes you can negotiate for a bonus that can subsidize the cost
2. Getting a fair salary and equity cut based on the funding stage; even if you don't exercise all your equity, your package can at least be used in future negotiations: https://topstartups.io/startup-salary-equity-database/
3. Asking for the option to extend exercise windows if you choose, turning ISOs into NSOs