Company offering stock options
An employee stock option (ESO) is a grant to an employee giving the right to buy a certain number of shares in the company's stock for a set price. “When companies cannot offer much by way of salary, they try to entice the employee with stock options” says Rizzo. “You need to be very careful in evaluating what the option offer is worth—if anything!” If a prospective start-up employer does offer equity, the job offer should dictate how much the company can or will offer you. When a company offers stock options to its employees, it is offering them an opportunity to purchase ownership in their company, usually by offering employees the opportunity to buy a specified number of shares of their employer’s stock within a set time period and at a price established by the company.