Many entrepreneurs will go into the investing side and join a VC firm post-exit. Team members can go on to build their own startups, or join a new team and help build another one. Some will also go down the VC route.
Exits
- The saying in the industry goes: “all you need is one good exit.” Some entrepreneurs are considered “serial entrepreneurs” and build multiple companies over the course of their career, which means they have multiple exits.
- Many believe that joining or founding a startup is a great way to strike it rich. In reality, there are only two main ways startup equity will be worth anything: an acquisition or going public (IPO). Many startups fall apart, or some just keep growing without plans to go public, which means employees won’t get to cash in their equity.
- Startup employee equity is usually structured on a four year vesting schedule with a one-year cliff, which means that your shares of stock will become yours over the course of four years and if you leave within a year you get nothing.