equity, stock-options, stock, sellWith company Share Option Plans in a Startup, what are the general rules for selling stock back to the company?
The stocks are not publicly available, thus meaning they can not be sold outside the company, so the only real option is to sell back to the company?
The question arrises due to being told that it would not be possible to cash out the current stock available for purchase. With a comment that all the share holders would need to agree and would be a logistical nightmare.
The answer unfortunately is in the question:
It [is] not [realistic] to cash out the current stock available for purchase [because] all the share holders would need to agree and [it] would be a logistical nightmare.
Generally speaking, stock options are worthless until there’s a liquidity event. If you exercise your options before such an event there’s little you can do with them beyond sitting on them and waiting.
On paper you could sell your shares to a third party, and perhaps even your options if there aren’t specific clauses in there that prevent this. There’s about zero chance that this third party will be the company however, because the company’s investors won’t approve if the money they poured into the company isn’t put to productive use.
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