Tender offer sell-or-hold: check price, cap, and eligibility
A tender offer is a dated, capped, eligibility-limited way to sell; run the three checks before the close date.

| Newest | Section | Read |
|---|---|---|
| Tender offer sell-or-hold: check price, cap, and eligibility | Startup Watch | 3 MIN |
| Check your tender cap against the 20% median before you sign | Fundraising Mechanics | 3 MIN |
| How to Read a Below-Mark Exit: Cash, Rollover, Tax Assets | Exits | 3 MIN |
| The 3 Leaver Lines That Decide Your ESOP Cash Out | Equity | 3 MIN |
| Value Vested ESOPs When an IPO Prices Below the Last Round | Startup Watch | 3 MIN |
A tender offer is a dated, capped, eligibility-limited way to sell; run the three checks before the close date.

Before signing a tender offer, run a three-line check on inclusion, sale cap, and market band.
A below-mark exit pays through cash, rollover equity, and tax assets; read those three lines before you judge the price.
Before signing a buyback or leaving, check eligibility, sale limits, and the post-departure exercise window in your grant.
Check the employee reservation, OFS size, and fresh-issue use in the prospectus to see what a below-round IPO does to your vested ESOP.
Every poker player has a leak. You know the one — the "small" mistake you make a hundred times a week that you can't see because you're the one making it. A solver doesn't fix leaks the way a coach does. It finds them in seconds, prices them exactly, and proves the fix. Here's the math of one.
In a mixed-consideration exit, cash-at-close, lock-up end, and earnout target definitions set the real payout clock, not the headline price.
When an IPO prices below range, mark vested shares at the actual offer and first-day price, then compare your strike and 409A to see the real delta.
Vested options can still shrink at exercise. Check early exercise, settlement type, and tax withholding before you count your shares.
A convertible note defers ownership until conversion, so model your stake as a range using the conversion price, discount, cap, and trigger.
Underwater options can pay nothing in a cash merger. Compare strike to price, then check cancellation and cashless-exercise terms.
Check the strike price, closing-vesting tranche, remaining schedule, and plan exception in an inducement grant to see what you keep after an acquisition.
The headline purchase price is not your payout; the 8-K retention exhibit sets target, maximum, vesting, and acceleration.
A SAFE filing shows money sold, investors, and leftover capacity, but the cap, discount, and conversion terms stay private.
Before the price is set, the use-of-proceeds section shows whether the IPO funds the company or pays the tax bill on employee RSUs.
A founder-funded ESOP can leave your percentage unchanged; the real test is who backs the pool, whether new shares were issued, and what your grant's terms say.
A PISCES secondary auction can give UK startup employees a way to sell vested shares before an IPO, but only if the company and shares clear the checklist.
Before an IPO price is set, a convertible note can convert automatically and change the share count, so check the terms that move your percentage.
A bigger ESOP pool can dilute you before the round if it is pre-money; the trust's financing shows who the expansion really targets.
Compare your strike, latest 409A, and tender price before choosing how much to sell in a company-sponsored tender offer.
A lower strike can be a retention test: before accepting a repricing, confirm the price, the service condition, and any reversion trap.
In a down sale, employee options are a residual after debt and preferences, not a slice of the headline exit price.
A primary round adds cash and dilutes you; a secondary can let holders sell at the new price without changing ownership.
Treat the Pulley-to-Carta move as a cap-table audit: verify grants, strike prices, vesting, 409A files, and pricing before the deadline.
A tender offer is a capped sale at today’s price, so run the checklist before you sign.
Treat your first startup equity grant like a new contract: audit option type, strike price, vesting, post-termination window, and size before you celebrate.
If the listing moves, your plan should test tenders, secondaries, and the AMT cost of exercising ISOs now.
A tender offer is a liquidity event, not a new round, so run four checks—price, sellable shares, after-tax cash, upside risk—before selling Angle Health.
A large round resets your option price and dilutes your stake, so check your strike, last tender or secondary price, and ownership before and after the raise.
A reverse acquihire can look like an exit but pay you like a license. Use this five-question checklist to see what your options, SAFEs, and vesting actually become.
Check two term-sheet numbers before a raise: new round price vs your last 409A and whether the option pool expands before the raise.
Match your new-hire grant to seniority, stage, function, geography, and grant year before deciding whether it is fair.
Check the post-termination window, all-in 409A cost, and cashless, partial, or financed routes before vested options expire.