On today’s Dear Heretics segment, Nolan and Kelli debate equity compensation philosophy: whether companies should extend stock options to all employees or reserve them for senior roles, weighing moral imperatives against investor dilution concerns and implementation complexity.
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KEEP UP WITH NOLAN + KELLI ON LINKEDIN
Nolan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nolan-church/
Kelli: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellidragovich/
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For coaching and advising inquire at https://kellidragovich.com/
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TIMESTAMPS:
(00:00) Intro
(01:07) Question about stock options for all employees
(01:48) Carta’s philosophy on making everyone an owner
(03:32) Moral case for giving equity to everyone
(05:07) Story about Carta’s employee refresh and Fred Wilson
(06:21) Challenge of educating employees on equity
(08:28) Pendo’s approach to equity education and round tables
(09:19) Setting expectations with $0 default value
(10:08) Sponsor - Metaview
(11:29) Cost of labor adjustments for equity across locations
(13:00) Administrative challenges of geo-based equity adjustments
(14:16) Employee communication and comparison issues
(16:10) Board tension over equity dilution decisions
(17:28) Attracting great talent requires competitive compensation
(18:06) Moral case and taxes of giving equity
(19:00) Importance of working with equity experts
(19:46) Closing thoughts on geo strategy and communication
(21:34) Wrap
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