What would you look for before joining a pre-IPO company? I potentially have an opportunity with one, and it made me realize that taking a role there is kind of like betting on the IPO. I’m trying to figure out what actually matters beyond the title and salary, like equity, growth, cash runway, leadership, and whether there’s a realistic path to liquidity. For those who’ve worked at pre-IPO companies, what did you wish you had looked into before joining?

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Your equity will most likely get diluted so look at the fully diluted share pool. See if they offer tender offers, which a lot do so you can hedge some of your equity. Also, look at the valuation of the company to see if it's ludicrous since most of the time you are locked for a few months before you can sell your shares.

That’s really helpful, especially the point about the fully diluted share pool and tender offers. I hadn’t thought much about how locked up the equity could be even after an IPO. Definitely sounds like valuation and liquidity matter just as much as the headline equity number. Thank you so much!

This is such a good question.

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