Map the vesting calendar
See this course’s project requirements
An equity-offer file with grant terms, vesting, exercise-cost scenarios, dilution, deadline questions and a cash-based offer comparison.
Keep your working files in your own notebook or software. Save a private description, checklist, and work link in My Proof.
What to include
- An offer term sheet separating salary and contingent equity.
- A vesting calendar and departure scenario. An exercise-cost worksheet with three hypothetical price scenarios.
- A simple dilution calculation and denominator questions.
- A departure deadline map and tax-adviser question list.
- A complete equity-offer comparison with a conditional recommendation.
Review and revise
Use these criteria to check your work and choose what to improve.
- Calculations reconcile to the supplied records, with units and dates labeled.
- Assumptions and missing information are visible, including the changed scenario.
- The recommendation follows the evidence and explains an important limitation.
- The six lesson outputs form a usable handoff that another learner can check.
Want more background?
The idea in everyday life
Fictional Cedar Apps offers $48000 annual salary plus 1200 options with a $3 exercise price. The options vest 25% after 12 months, then 25% at each later anniversary through year 4. Unvested options are forfeited on leaving; vested options expire 90 days after leaving or at their stated 10-year expiration, whichever comes first. No sale market is promised. These invented terms are not standard terms or legal advice.
Vesting describes which rights have been earned under the stated schedule; it does not itself mean cash has arrived.
Map the vesting calendar — worked practice
Vesting describes which rights have been earned under the stated schedule; it does not itself mean cash has arrived.
Fictional Cedar Apps offers $48000 annual salary plus 1200 options with a $3 exercise price. The options vest 25% after 12 months, then 25% at each later anniversary through year 4. Unvested options are forfeited on leaving; vested options expire 90 days after leaving or at their stated 10-year expiration, whichever comes first. No sale market is promised. These invented terms are not standard terms or legal advice.
1. Calculate annual tranche
Multiply 1200 by 25%.
You should see: 300 options vest at each anniversary.
Use the actual schedule, not an assumed monthly pattern.
2. Build calendar
Record cumulative vesting at months 11,12,24,36,48.
You should see: 0, 300, 600, 900, 1200 options.
The cliff creates a discrete first vest.
3. Test departure
Apply the schedule if the worker leaves at month 18.
You should see: 300 vested; 900 unvested and forfeited under this case.
Leaving between anniversaries changes the result.
4. Separate cash
Label all vested amounts as option rights, not salary.
You should see: Vesting changes eligibility to exercise, not monthly pay.
Preserve the distinction from ownership and cash.
What to finish
A vesting calendar and departure scenario.
Watch for this
Assuming every grant vests monthly.
How can I tell I understand it?
Explain your calculation or classification and reproduce the changed case without copying the worked result.
Quick knowledge check
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Go to the knowledge checkOptional course overview video · same video as Lesson 1
What are stock options, and how do they work?
From Carta. Watch here or open it on YouTube .
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Source & access notes · checked 2026-09-12
Inspected distinction between employee options and employee stock ownership retirement plans.
Access: Public page inspected without a sign-in; linked services may have separate requirements.
Reuse: Link to the original. Free reading does not imply permission to reproduce the page; lessons and fixtures here are original.
Source & access notes · checked 2026-09-12
Inspected compensatory securities exemption and resale restrictions. Fictional terms control all exercises.
Access: Public page inspected without a sign-in; linked services may have separate requirements.
Reuse: Link to the original. Free reading does not imply permission to reproduce the page; lessons and fixtures here are original.
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