---
title: 'Need help understanding stock and options? Here’s a cheat sheet for entrepreneurs and startup employees'
date: '2011-05-22T15:17:31-07:00'
type: post
word_count: 199
char_count: 1230
tokens: 259
categories:
  - '#featured'
  - Reference
  - Startups
tags:
  - employees
  - Entrepreneur
  - options
  - Startup
  - stock
---

# Need help understanding stock and options? Here’s a cheat sheet for entrepreneurs and startup employees

In the world of startups, “stock,” “options,” “equity,” and “liquidity event” are bandied about pretty freely. But given that—as an entrepreneur or an employee at a startup—they greatly affect your livelihood and the value you’ll derive from contributing to a startup, it would probably make sense for you to understand *exactly* what those terms mean, wouldn’t it?

It would. And that’s why is was nice to find this cheat sheet, [An Introduction to Stock & Options for the Tech Entrepreneur or Startup Employee](http://www.scribd.com/doc/55945011/Intro-to-Stock-and-Options "An Introduction to Stock & Options for the Tech Entrepreneur or Startup Employee").

\[HTML4\]

That’s right. They even cover Convertible Notes. It’s really a solid overview.

Although it is missing one valuable piece of startup advice. I didn’t really see any guidance on what to do when that stock and those options all go south. If you need to talk about that, I’ve got more than enough experience to share in that regard.

*([Image courtesy Anamolous4](http://www.flickr.com/photos/31333486@N00/1977134004/). Used under Creative Commons.)*