am sure you are right. It will affect not just morale, but his credibility as a leader.

But the point is really this: Zuckerberg can’t ‘cash out’ his employees. He just doesn’t have the cash. Or let’s put it the other way round. Let’s just imagine he bought out his employees. He would essentially tell his employees: “Look, I am cashing you out, this means your shares are undervalued, thanks a lot for giving them to me.”

What you need is a market for the shares outside of the company’s control. Where people can trade their shares with other people. Oh, wait, that is called a public market…bugger…back to the drawing board.

What it essentially shows is that companies that should actually be publicly-listed aren’t. Maybe Obama is intelligent enough to understand this problem and remove Sarbanes-Oxley. It sure didn’t prevent the credit crunch. All it does is slow everybody else down.

am sure you are right. It will affect not just morale, but his credibility as a leader.

But the point is really this: Zuckerberg can’t ‘cash out’ his employees. He just doesn’t have the cash. Or let’s put it the other way round. Let’s just imagine he bought out his employees. He would essentially tell his employees: “Look, I am cashing you out, this means your shares are undervalued, thanks a lot for giving them to me.”

What you need is a market for the shares outside of the company’s control. Where people can trade their shares with other people. Oh, wait, that is called a public market…bugger…back to the drawing board.

What it essentially shows is that companies that should actually be publicly-listed aren’t. Maybe Obama is intelligent enough to understand this problem and remove Sarbanes-Oxley. It sure didn’t prevent the credit crunch. All it does is slow everybody else down.

I’m sure you’re right that nothing was promised in the legal sense. I used the word more loosely than that. The key here is what people expected, and if they really thought they were going to get some cash then they will be disappointed, and that will hit moral.

I’m sure you’re right that nothing was promised in the legal sense. I used the word more loosely than that. The key here is what people expected, and if they really thought they were going to get some cash then they will be disappointed, and that will hit moral.

Regarding Facebook’s options plan: I don’t think they made any promises, did they? I’m sure everything was hedged (i.e. “we are trying to set up this program, but don’t know if or when it will go into effect”). If it wasn’t, then what the hell are they paying their attorneys and Zuck’s handlers for?! Still, it was asking for trouble (even stupid?) to announce something like that before it locked down. That’s what you get with a 24-year old CEO? That and the privacy and other blunders?

The startup I joined in 1999 went public in December 2001. It was supposed to go happen sooner, but 9/11 closed the window for everyone. Everyone understood. Now is another window-closing crisis. I’m sure everybody understands. Like anything else that’s subject to a window of opportunity, you don’t count your liquidity until the wire clears and the clawbacks, short put options, or other things have expired.

Regarding Facebook’s options plan: I don’t think they made any promises, did they? I’m sure everything was hedged (i.e. “we are trying to set up this program, but don’t know if or when it will go into effect”). If it wasn’t, then what the hell are they paying their attorneys and Zuck’s handlers for?! Still, it was asking for trouble (even stupid?) to announce something like that before it locked down. That’s what you get with a 24-year old CEO? That and the privacy and other blunders?

The startup I joined in 1999 went public in December 2001. It was supposed to go happen sooner, but 9/11 closed the window for everyone. Everyone understood. Now is another window-closing crisis. I’m sure everybody understands. Like anything else that’s subject to a window of opportunity, you don’t count your liquidity until the wire clears and the clawbacks, short put options, or other things have expired.