Over the weekend I learned that my former employer (a tech startup I left 5 years prior) has filed their initial public offering (IPO) to sell shares of company stock. At the time I terminated my employment, I exercised all the stock options I was vested in. I had a low strike price of $0.80/share, and figured it was a small risk to buy the 4000 shares I was vested in at the time I left.
This is not an investment advice thread (yet), but I do have some logistical/administrative questions about the process.
So in my safe at home, I have the paper stock certificate. At this point that certificate is not worth more than toilet paper with some big hopes and dreams. The value of private companies are not publicly known, so it's almost impossible to estimate a fair price.
That all said, in reality technology companies don't file for IPO unless they anticipate some ROI for their investors. I know what the various rounds of venture capital have raised, and can do some napkin math.
The good news:
I've held this stock for nearly 5 years, and thus have reduced my tax exposure as it's a long term gain. I believe that's 15% in federal taxes.
So even if it only reached $1.00 on opening day, I'd still make a tiny profit after taxes. I sure they wouldn't plan an IPO to only trade at single digit prices.
The uncertain news:
I want liquidate this so I can have the money, and transition into a "how do I invest this" thread.
In order to do that, I of course must sell the stock.
Do I sell at the opening bell, end of day closing price or something else?
I worry if I hold too long, the market will sober up and the price will correct.
I apologize if any of this sounds boastful. I don't really feel like this was luck - I worked hellacious hours for a few years of my life, and have waited for half a decade for this payout. Maybe this is a weird blessing, as I'm older and wiser today and thus am less likely to do stupid crap with the money.
