The exact script one reader used to walk away with $34k more by asking two questions on her offer call. Print it. Bring it to your next call. Subscribe and the audit lands in your inbox.
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The full audit has all ten — plus, for each, why it matters and what "good" looks like as an answer. Below is a taste so you know what you're signing up for.
"If I get laid off before my one-year mark, do I keep any of my stock?"
Most offers say no. But about 30% of late-stage companies will say yes if you ask — meaning even six months in, you walk away with half a year of stock instead of zero. Costs nothing to bring up.
"If the company gets acquired, what happens to my unvested stock?"
You want it written into the offer letter — not "in the equity plan you'll see after signing." If your company gets bought and you're let go in the transition, the right clause keeps your stock vesting. Can be worth 12–30% of your entire grant.
"Can I buy my stock early — before the price goes up?"
One clause that lets you lock in the stock's tax cost while it's still cheap. At an early-stage startup, this is the difference between a $4k tax bill and a $90k tax bill when the company eventually goes public. Nobody volunteers this; you have to ask.
"If I leave or get laid off, how long do I have to buy my vested stock?"
Default is 90 days — after that, vested stock you earned just expires. A 7–10 year window means you don't have to come up with thousands of dollars in three months while also looking for a job.
…plus six more, including the four-question liquidity script and the refresh-policy clause most candidates never know to ask about.
A reader was about to sign with a $4B startup. Standard package: $215k base, plus stock options that let her buy shares at $7.40 — though the company's internal share price was already $14.10. Normal grant, nothing unusual.
She asked two questions from this audit: one about buying her stock early to lock in a low tax cost, and one about how long she'd have to buy her vested stock if she ever left. The recruiter said yes to both within 48 hours. Estimated savings when the company IPOs: $34,000 in taxes she won't owe — from two sentences she added to her offer letter in under 20 minutes.
This is what the audit is for. Not magic. Just the questions nobody trained you to ask.
Yes. The audit is free, the newsletter is free, and the unsubscribe is one click. The eventual paid tier is for monthly deep-dives and comp data — the weekly free brief and the audit will stay free forever.
The audit lives on a clean web page — you can read it instantly, print it, or save it as a PDF. The subscribe confirmation email contains the direct link. The newsletter then starts the following Sunday.
No. It's the questions to ask and why each one matters — not advice on your specific tax situation. Anything that involves actual tax decisions (especially around buying or selling stock at a startup) should go through a CPA who handles startup equity. The audit makes you sharper at the negotiating table; it doesn't replace your advisor.
Yes — knowing what your current offer is missing is the prep work for your next one. A handful of these (yearly raises, selling stock for cash before IPO) are also negotiable mid-tenure, not just at the start.
Once a week, Sundays at 9 AM. Plus the one confirmation email containing the audit. That's it.
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