I guess I’m confused. You’re at a start up that hasn’t given you options yet? In my mind that’s sort of strange, that should be part of the base compensation package at most of the start-ups that I’ve represented or interacted with.
As for options vesting, I do know of people that have done well (some at start-ups and some at publicly traded companies). My buddy at Cisco is house-hunting due to his options. My brother in law was looking at a $3 million dollar home due to his AMD options (which has withered from $40 down to $7)–so that got tabled. A co-worker asked me to review his option package from his old job. He got options at 23 cents and the stock is trading at $15. Not a huge number but a good $30k for his one year at the company.
I also was a tech-trans lawyer that represented a number of start-ups during the dot boom. So I saw plenty of clients hit it big (and plenty that didn’t).
If your company has products and growth, why not go into management? How is taking a pay-cut different than folks that give up 2 years of salary to go to MBA school? Just have to make calculations based on your circumstances.
