Beautifully simple to read and understand. The speculative nature of employee stock options needs to be better appreciated by staffers. If the choice was salary or stock, this was a time (post hoc reasoning) for better pay. I feel a duty of care was missed, but perhaps I misunderstand the obligations people who are "in the know" have towards employee-investors.
Posted this older piece because it is one of the better written articles on the dangers of shares in private companies that don’t pan out the way we would hope for and the risks involved.