Fundraising Operations
Compare Job Offers With Equity on the Same Time Basis
Compare equity offers on a common timeline, with cash and uncertain equity in separate panels.
What you will learn
- Compare cash and vesting over the same horizon.
- Keep private-equity scenarios separate from contractual cash.
- Identify which assumptions change an offer comparison.
Compare equity offers on a common timeline, with cash and uncertain equity in separate panels. A four-year grant is not an annual salary, an option is not a share, and a recruiter’s headline value is not a promise of sale proceeds.
Use the same four-year window
Start with the award type, quantity, schedule, exercise price where relevant and the evidence behind any quoted value. FINRA’s stock-award questions explains why award type and vesting matter. The table below is a fictional reading exercise, not a recommendation to accept either offer.
Two offers, one horizon
| Component | Offer A | Offer B |
|---|---|---|
| Annual base salary | $145,000 | $160,000 |
| One-time signing payment | $10,000 | $0 |
| Four-year cash, assuming continued employment and stated pay | 4×$145,000+$10,000=$590,000 | 4×$160,000=$640,000 |
| Equity grant | 20,000 private-company options | 8,000 private-company RSUs |
| Illustrative vesting assumption | 25% at year 1, then monthly through year 4 | 25% at each year-end |
| Exercise price | $2 per share | No purchase price assumed in this example |
| Confirmed sale opportunity | None supplied | None supplied |
Offer B provides $50,000 more modeled gross cash over this stated horizon. The equity columns cannot be added to those cash totals without additional assumptions. Neither the 20,000-option count nor the 8,000-RSU count establishes the better economic outcome.
Build a separate equity scenario panel
For illustration only, assume all awards vest, all settlement or exercise conditions are met, sale permission exists and the common share sale price is $6 at the end of year 4. A’s gross option spread is 20,000×($6−$2)=$80,000 before tax and fees. B’s supplied share-settled RSU proceeds are 8,000×$6=$48,000 before tax and fees. These are conditional arithmetic, not valuations or forecasts.
Change the sale price, timing or continued-service assumption and the panel changes. In a no-sale scenario, neither equity column supplies cash for current expenses. An RSU may also have unsettled conditions; a vested option may still require purchase cash. Keep those differences visible.
Do not hide mismatched units
- Label a signing payment once, not in every year.
- Separate target bonus from guaranteed pay.
- State whether an equity quote is total-grant or annualized.
- Keep an award’s grant date, vesting period and expected settlement separate.
- List benefits and personal costs separately rather than declaring them equivalent across offers.
You can compare a shorter horizon as well. If departure occurs before the example cliff, the equity schedule can look very different from a four-year completion scenario. Use the actual documents to identify what changes; do not presume a standard result.
Turn the comparison into questions
Ask the company to explain unresolved terms and ask qualified advisers about personal financial or tax implications. You do not need to manufacture a precise “risk-adjusted salary” to identify missing information. Use the cap-table review checklist to understand which source records should explain an award, not to infer your entitlement. Keep the evidence and questions in a concise decision brief alongside the assumption-and-scenario framework. In Finta, organize the related conversations and next steps; Aurora can help draft a summary of the terms you supply for your review.
About this lesson. By Finta Editorial Team. Sources checked November 14,2026. Examples and exercise amounts are fictional. General education, not individualized legal, tax, accounting or investment advice. Confirm actual terms with the responsible company team and qualified advisers.