In today’s show, Jason is going to talk to Vieje Piauwasdy, director of equity strategy for Secfi. It is an online platform that allows employees of private companies to monetize their options and cash out before waiting for an exit from the company.

Episode Highlights:

00.52: At Secfi, we help employees with their stock options. The company was started just four years ago. We have worked with hundreds of thousands of employees ranging from start-ups from the seed level to pre-IPO companies, says Vieje.
2.45: The education part of Vieje’s mission is to help educate employees, help them understand their equity, and make the best decisions. Second, we do provide financing solutions for these employees as well.
4.10: Jason asks, “In your company if you are getting richly rewarded on in shares, and if you are not publicly traded and the timeline for exit is not known, how old you make the most of that and get out?”
5.29: Equity was a very taboo topic. It is something you don’t talk with co-workers, or it is kind of like talking about your salary, says Vieje.
6.41: Private company valuations are very subjective, especially in this day and age where valuation numbers are thrown out.
7.30: Most people are at their first or possibly second start-up, and they don’t know what their shares are worth. So here at Secifi, we really operate off, and we obviously add a financing solution to all this, but it all starts with education, says Vieje.
9.28: Jason inquires, “We have got some sort of reasonable valuation on stock options, and you want to exercise them. So how do you help facilitate the exercising of this?”
11.12 Vieje explains, “The reason we are able to assume the downside in these positions is that we only work with fast growing start-ups with the reasonable means to exit.”
13.02: When it comes to rates and how we set those rates, that quite greatly depends on a company we work with, says Vieje.
15.22 Vieje says that their financing is set up for individuals who want to go on their shares.
16.41: If you are in a fast-growing start-up, then single-digit rates of interest are irrelevant compared to the vastly double-digit growth rates of the equity, says Jason.
18.39: Vieje explains, the idea behind our rates is financing. We structure it so that individuals will have more cash in their pocket if the company has a pretty good exit.
19.24: Jason asks, “Talk to me about consumer reactions so far, and how is the adoption rate? How is the value reacting this? This is something that’s a welcome change because this is not an uncommon problem in Titan Tech world.”
20.08: Vieje says everyone should have access to something. The regulatory nature of stock options makes it a pretty crappy instrument all around.
23.43: Vieje reiterates, “We take a fiduciary approach to everything that we do. Team Equity strategist work with every individual.”
24.14: Jason inquires, “If you had one wish do something get changed in your company or the industry as a whole, what would it be?”
24.20: Vieje wishes he could take out every one of these bad reputations of brokers and people just looking to make a buck off you.
25.17: Jason asks, “What has been the biggest challenge in the company to where it is today?”
26.17: As per Vieje, understanding an industry that brings something new out to the world. Financing stock options is a completely new industry.
27.13: Jason asks, “What excites you the most about what it is you are working on keeps you getting up every morning to keep on fighting the good fight?”
27.20 As per Vieje the best part about this job is the joy and happiness you can provide to an individual that you can only imagine.

3 Key Points:

Vieje says, we provide as much information to service individuals as possible, giving data we have, giving the information on our platform, and let us stop and make a decision for valuation or equity.
Vieje explains both liquidity and the option exercise are structured the same way. If we gave $1,000,000 in cash and cured by the shares, this situation wouldn’t be toward exercise options and taxes.
Vieje highlights that Secfi is working greatly depending on where you are within the stage to company. We have no idea what the markets will look like, but if they believe in the upside of their company, then the company is going to have a good exit.

Tweetable Quotes:

“No matter how much you plan around equity, sometimes your company grows a little too fast.”- Vieje
“A lot of people, unfortunately, don’t plan properly and start talking to advisors for equity.” – Vieje
“Not all employees are valued the same way just like this salary issue.” – Jason
“There is a lot of risk you’re taking out of the table for individuals and putting on yourself what is being taken in return.” – Jason
“Sometimes financing does not make sense for everyone.” – Vieje

Resources Mentioned:

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