CARTA BLOG

Employee resource center

Equity is confusing. We’re here to help. These equity education posts can help you understand equity basics, how to navigate your equity offer, what to expect when exercising, and more.

What is an employee stock purchase plan (ESPP)?

An employee stock purchase plan (ESPP) is a program public companies can offer that allows you to buy shares of company stock—usually at a discounted rate. Here’s what you need to know before participating:

Why you should always accept your stock grant

Accepting your stock grant is one of the most important tasks to take care of when starting at a company. Yet many people make the mistake of forgetting about it, or worse, ignoring it.

How are stock options taxed?

Here’s what you need to know and prepare for if you exercised and/or sold stock options this year.

How to value a job offer from a public company vs. a private company

You can’t compare job offers with public equity vs private equity apples to apples. Learn how to think about and compare them.

Equity 101 Part 3: How stock options are taxed

We explore what it means to exercise stock options, the taxes you may need to pay, and the common times people exercise their options.

Equity 101 Part 2: Stock option strike prices

What determines a stock option strike price? Learn more about strike prices, how stock options gain value over time, and dilution.

Equity 101 Part 1: Startup employee stock options

Received stock options from your company and don’t understand what that means? Here’s how to make sense of your offer letter and option grant.

How to value your equity offer (free startup equity calculator)

Learn how to evaluate the equity portion of your job offer and download our free equity calculator to see what your options could be worth.

What are employee stock options?

Stock options aren’t actual shares—they’re the opportunity to exercise (purchase) a certain amount of company shares at an agreed-upon price. Learn more.