If you work at a private unicorn — a company valued above $1B — your equity package is probably your largest potential financial asset. It's also probably your most misunderstood one. This guide is designed to fix that.
Step 1: Know what you own
Before you can value your equity, you need to know what type it is. The four main types:
- RSU (Restricted Stock Unit): You receive shares when they vest. No purchase required. Taxed as ordinary income at vest.
- ISO (Incentive Stock Option): You can buy shares at your strike price. May qualify for capital gains treatment if held long enough. AMT risk at exercise.
- NSO (Non-Qualified Stock Option): Same as ISO but taxed as ordinary income at exercise (no capital gains benefit).
- PPU (Profit Participation Unit): OpenAI-specific. Behaves like an RSU economically — no strike price, ordinary income at distribution.
Step 2: Know your valuation inputs
There are three prices relevant to your equity: (1) your grant price (or 409A at grant), (2) the current 409A, and (3) the current secondary market price. For valuation purposes, the secondary market price is the most accurate real-time signal — it reflects what an informed outside investor will actually pay today.
Step 3: Run the four-method valuation
PrivatePulse uses four independent valuation methods: Method A (peer-multiple), Method B (secondary-implied), Method C (primary time-decay), and Method D (sector momentum). No single method is always right — the four-way view gives you a defensible range.
Step 4: Model your liquidity path
The value on paper is only meaningful if you can access it. Map your company's likely path: tender offer in the next 12 months? IPO in 2–3 years? Strategic acquisition? Each path has a different probability and different tax treatment.
Step 5: Plan the tax consequences
Tax is the largest variable most employees don't model. For RSU holders: ordinary income tax on value at vest, whether or not you sell. For ISO holders: AMT at exercise, then capital gains if held. For NSO holders: ordinary income at exercise. Model your after-tax outcome, not just the pre-tax equity value.
Step 6: Monitor and update
Your equity value isn't static. New funding rounds, secondary market movements, competitor IPOs, and macro market conditions all change your valuation. Set a quarterly calendar reminder to update your PrivatePulse estimate.
The most common mistake: assuming the last funding round valuation is what your equity is worth. It's a 12-month-old data point. The secondary market gives you a live signal. Use both — they tell different parts of the story.