Can someone explain employee stock options to me? I recently encountered them for the first time, and my understanding is they're not equity. It's basically just a contract that says "you can buy some of our stock if you want". So the part I'm confused about is, why do I need stock options to buy the stock? Since startups are private and their only way to raise money is via outside investment, wouldn't they want people to buy their stock? Why do you need the options and can't just say, phone up and just ask to buy shares?
