Stock options are a type of compensation that companies (especially startups) give employees. Instead of just giving you a salary and bonus, they also give you the option (aka the right) to buy a certain number of shares of the company at a set price — called the exercise price — sometime in the future. You usually can’t buy them all at once. You “earn” them over time through something called vesting (for example, 25% after one year, then monthly after that). So basically, stock options = a bet that the company will grow and be worth a lot more later. If it does, you get to buy cheap and sell high. Follow @ruffinmitchener and comment GROWTH if you want access to this dashboard of the 72 fastest growing startups… hiring now! #startup #venturecapital #tech #ai #career #equity #wealth #millionare