equity-design
Use when designing equity grant programs — covers grant philosophy, vesting, exercise windows, refresh, and exit considerations.
Codex 또는 Claude로 설치 이 Prompt를 복사해 Codex, Claude 또는 다른 어시스턴트에 붙여 넣으면 Skill 페이지를 검토하고 설치를 진행할 수 있습니다.
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Use when designing equity grant programs — covers grant philosophy, vesting, exercise windows, refresh, and exit considerations.
Codex 또는 Claude로 설치 이 Prompt를 복사해 Codex, Claude 또는 다른 어시스턴트에 붙여 넣으면 Skill 페이지를 검토하고 설치를 진행할 수 있습니다.
SOC 직업 분류 기준
Use when designing or applying progressive discipline — covers the escalating sequence, documentation, gross misconduct exceptions, and consistency.
Use when conducting or scoping workplace investigations — covers intake, scope, interview protocols, evidence, findings, and outcomes.
Use when auditing or designing the candidate's journey — covers communication, time, transparency, and the link between candidate experience and employer brand.
Use when designing career frameworks, level rubrics, IC and management track parity, and promotion processes.
Use when planning organizational change — covers communication architecture, sequencing, manager enablement, and predictable failure modes.
Use when training managers in coaching skills — covers GROW, listening, asking vs. telling, and growth mindset framing.
| name | equity-design |
| description | Use when designing equity grant programs — covers grant philosophy, vesting, exercise windows, refresh, and exit considerations. |
Equity is one of the most legally and tax-sensitive areas in HR. Every consequential decision requires employment counsel, securities counsel, and a tax advisor. The agent flags; specialists decide.
| Stage | Pattern |
|---|---|
| Seed–Series A | Front-loaded; large grants; smaller team gets meaningful ownership |
| Series B–C | Mixed; decreasing % per role; refresh becomes important |
| Series D+ / pre-IPO | Smaller %, more dollar value; refresh annual |
| Public | RSUs; smaller %; market price drives value; annual refresh |
Document the philosophy. Communicate it to candidates and employees.
Standard convention: 4 years total, 1-year cliff (no vesting until 12 months, then 25%, then monthly).
Variants:
Convention is convention, not law. Match the vesting to the role and need.
The 90-day post-termination exercise window for options is convention, not legal requirement.
It disadvantages long-tenured employees: they have to come up with cash (and AMT for ISOs) to exercise within 90 days or forfeit vested shares.
Strong recommendation: extend to 7 or 10 years post-termination. Pioneered by Pinterest, Asana, Quora; increasingly common.
Caveat: ISOs convert to NSOs after 90 days post-termination (tax treatment changes). Document this clearly.
Strongly summary-only; consult tax advisor.
| Type | Tax at Grant | Tax at Exercise/Vest | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| ISO (US only) | None | Spread potentially AMT | $100k/yr cap; favorable LTCG if held |
| NSO | None | Ordinary income on spread | Broader applicability |
| RSU | None | Ordinary income on vest | No exercise; standard at public |
| Restricted Stock + 83(b) | Pay tax on grant value | None at vest | Cash outlay at grant |
Errors are expensive and often permanent. Get qualified advice.
US private companies: strike price = 409A FMV (independent valuation).
Implications:
Why:
Design:
Common failure: refresh ignored until employee threatens to leave. Reactive refresh = broken system.
Communicate clearly to employees in advance. Surprises at exit are bad for trust and bad for retention.
Employee Stock Purchase Plan (post-IPO): allows employees to buy stock at a discount (typically 15%) via payroll deduction.
Strongly favorable for employees. Recommend for all qualifying public companies.
Most employees don't understand their own equity. Solutions:
equity-architect agentcompensation-strategist agentcompensation-philosophy skilllegal-and-jurisdictional-boundaries rule