The people who design stock option plans anticipate liquidity events by setting aside large reserves of options for these late-stage hires. As a result, the ownership structure of a high-tech company at a liquidity event resembles that in Table 3. Again, the numbers are expressed in terms of both percentage of shares outstanding and number of shares in a company with 20 million shares outstanding. The data comes from published surveys and from analysis of S-1 filings. Ownership levels at a liquidity event in the high-tech industry.
Information excludes founder's holdings.