Always, always, always read the fine print. Or else you could end up like some departing Skype employees who have learned that their vested stock options are worthless.
Turns out that when private equity firm Silver Lake Partners bought the Internet phone company from eBay in 2009, Silver Lake won the right to buy back employee stock options for their issuing price if an employee left the company in less than five years.
Typically, equity agreements allow employees to vest a quarter of their stock options after one-year into their four-year vesting period. But the 11-page agreement that one employee signed had a sentence toward the end that said Skype could re-appropriate the options if the employee quit before five years.
This kind of thing doesn't sit well in Silicon Valley where the whole reason talented people forego the big bucks at Google or Facebook is the chance to make it mega-rich when your company goes public or, say, gets acquired by Microsoft for $8.5 billion.
It's one thing when you force out executives to give yourself a bigger pay day, but another when you bilk the rank and file out of what in some cases are trivial amounts of cash. It probably won't help Skype recruit and retain talent, not with all the big money floating around the Valley, Businessweek writes. (Bloomberg Businessweek)
Facebook Aborigine Leaves (AllThingsD)
Kevin Colleran has been working at Facebook longer than anyone besides Mark Zuckerberg. But Colleran, head of global sales, is leaving the company next month to pursue angel investing and other activities. As the old friend walks out, a new friend walks in. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings has joined the company's board of directors, a signal that an IPO could be coming soon.
Google Is Target of Antitrust Investigation (WSJ)
When Google was starting out, it prided itself on being the anti-Microsoft, the company that terrorized the competition in the 1990s and was the target of a large federal investigation of its software monopoly. Now the two have at least one thing in common, as the feds investigate whether Google is abusing its monopoly over the search advertising business.
In Tech, Women > Men (Reuters)
Coraid CEO and tech veteran Audrey MacLean says women are under-represented because the adolescent geek culture is violence-centric, but that women have an advantage over men if they get the academic training that leads to jobs.
Arizona Gets Hacked (Reuters)
LulzSec strikes again, this time posting numerous Arizona police department documents online. The group says the hack is in retaliation for the state's controversial immigration law that allows police officers to demand immigration papers of those they suspect of being in the country illegally.
Ain't Over 'Till It's Over (WSJ)
Yahoo's board of directors say they support CEO Carol Bartz, and some anonymous sources say the company isn't looking to replace her. TechCrunch, however, reported this week that board was quietly exploring succession options.
SiTime Hiring MEMS Engineers (FINS)
Sunnyvale, Calif.-based startup SiTime will add 15 new employees in the next year after raising $20 million in new financing.
Nader Fires at Chambers (WSJ)
Ralph Nader, the consumer advocate, presidential candidate, and the man who called Barack Obama an "uncle tom" is now going after Cisco. Nader, a long-time shareholder in the company, is demanding that it pay out cash to its investors. Despite slow growth, the company is holding onto a cash reserve of $43 billion.
Buzz Around the Office
Front-Page News (imgur)
Where was the "lamestream" media on this groundbreaking story? Oh yeah, here.
List of the Day: How to Handle Salary Questions in Interviews
1. Quote the total package, including bonuses and other benefits, you have had in the past.
2. Emphasize flexibility if the job you're applying for pays less than you've made in the past.
3. If want more than you have made in the past, say so.
(Source: Glassdoor)
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