fabiochiu/medium-articles huggingface dataset:
Why do Politicians and elected officials get to cut to the head of the line for COVID Vaccine.
By: Tim Knowles
Tags: Equity, Wealth, Politics, Fairness, Covid 19

The question for Nancy and Mitch, what gives you the right to take the shot away from someone at greater risk?

These people think they are special. I say bullshit. They are just citizens and have no more rights to privilege than anyone else.

Yes, maybe the President and critical national security staff. Maybe, most everyone has a back up. The president goes down we have a vice president and even a process for if we lose both of them. In the various departments of the executive they certainly have a succession plan. In congress, we could lose 50% and not only be fine. Maybe we would be better off. That would be better than term limits.

If I find out that Bill Gates gets the vaccine before I am eligible I will pitch a serious fit. I don’t have anything against Bill Gate it is just in my mind not right that wealth provide certain privileges like access to scarce resources that should be provided based on need not wealth. If you need a liver transplant it should not matter how much money you have. It should matter who is the best qualified recipient.

TEK
Best Performing Stocks in India 2020
Tags: Equity, Value Investing, Stock Market, Investment, Investing

Check out the 30 best-performing stocks in India 2020, and the top 10 stocks that can keep performing in 2021.

Top 30 performing stocks of 2020

The year 2020 has been a roller coaster year in every context and the stock market is no exception to that. It appeared as if market cycles that generally occur over 10 years or more, were force-fit into 10 months or so. The year 2020 has seen all of it; Expansion, Recession, Recovery, Boom in such a short span.

Let us have a look at the stocks that contributed to this party. Following is the list of the top 30 stocks that have generated maximum returns in the past 1 year.

During the bull market, all stocks, good and bad, may rise. However, if a company is not fundamentally sound or if it has not grown, the stock will give away all the returns it earned during the liquidity rally.

Which stocks are likely to do well over next year? We believe that stocks of companies that are scaling up a business or enjoying tailwinds in their respective sector will continue to grow and the stock prices will follow the same.

Here are the top 10 stocks that can keep performing in 2021 and are worth exploring

1. Bharat Electronics Ltd. (BEL)

BEL is India’s largest defense electronics equipment manufacturer, with ~60% share in defense electronics. The company is a key beneficiary of the Indian government’s increasing thrust on the replacement and modernization of military hardware in the country. The government’s push to source defense equipment from the home country provides a tailwind for further growth.

Bharat Electronics has an order book to the size of ~52,000 Cr which is ~4x TTM sales. The management has guided for 10–12% CAGR growth and a stable margin bodes well for the company’s future prospects.

Continue reading here…
Equity Tokens
Tags: Blockchain, Equity, Tokenization, Equity Crowdfunding, Token

What is an equity token, equity tokenization, and what are the differences between equity token and a security token — today we are offering you more interesting concepts and answers to these puzzling questions.

We recommend this article especially to those who want to expand their knowledge on investments: https://tecra.space/news/equity-tokens
A More Fundamental Sense of Engagement
By: Street Consulting
Tags: Equity, Inclusiveness, Culture, Distributed Leadership, Education

In education engagement usually means students being active in some cognitive capacity related to the content they are learning. However, we encourage school leaders and teachers to think about engagement in a different way, as well.

For students, parents, and staff to engage, we need to pay attention to what we call governance engagement factors. Governance engagement is based on the notion of establishing a culture of fairness and trust in your classroom, school, and education community. Make the principles of fairness and trust explicit and recognize individuals for their commitment to those values.

Create structural and routine opportunities for all constituents to exercise their voice and to provide authentic feedback on the organization. Be overt and intentional about creating equity and forming an inclusive community. Ensure discipline is focused on community building and not punishment.

By being intentional about these values, by building a trusting and inclusive community, you will find that students will be more willing to engage and take risks in lessons, parents will be more willing to come to the table and engage in the work with you, and staff will be more willing to be professionally adventurous.

There is no power for change greater than a community discovering what it cares about.

– Margaret J. Wheatley
Trade-offs
By: Mafe Gonzalez
Tags: Equity, Green New Deal

My final studio presentation ended with my definition of justice.

Justice for me means that vulnerable communities (both human and non-human) can have the right to inhabit (this includes shelter, food, dispersion-mobility) a hybrid (urban-rural), multicultural landscape with room for everyone: the creek, the cottonwoods, the raccoons, the humans.

A question arose among the reviewers, what are the project’s trade-offs? “It is not possible to have space for everyone”.

So I thought that the main trade-off of my proposal is the change of mentality, the movement from the individual to the communal, the implementation of giving and receiving. We humans have already taken a lot and now it is time to give, to share, to think also about other species and other humans. The reclamation of the stream that I am proposing has as a trade-off: a change of perception, moving from “I have a beautiful deck in my house over the stream” to “we have a wonderful riparian public park”.
Introducing The Tiny News Collective
By: Heather Bryant
Tags: Media Ownership, Equity, Local News, Journalism, Entrepreneurship

A Unique Structure

Our structure — essentially a form of fiscal sponsorship — allows us to efficiently share services across our newsrooms, thus dramatically lowering costs in order to provide resources like libel insurance, legal assistance, accounting, operations support and access to a community of peers through LION Publishers.

Unrivaled Support

Our team, partners and advisors include some of the best in the business. We have expertise in entrepreneurship, marketing, analytics, local news, technology, management, accounting, product and First Amendment law. Our founders will have access to expertise that rivals the largest global news organizations.

Unparalleled Technology

By leveraging developments in open source software and serverless cloud infrastructure, we built a super scalable publishing platform that costs pennies compared to the alternatives. All of the tooling is pre-configured and optimized for a local news site tuned to a reader-revenue-focused business model.

Our pricing model is still being finalized, but The Collective will be able to offer the platform, training, legal assistance, back-office services and everything else for around $100 per month — a fraction of what it would cost on the open market. LION membership is included in the price, giving founders access to additional training and an entire community to learn from.

Applications for our first group of founders will open early 2021, but from Tuesday forward those who are interested can sign up at our website: tinynewsco.org. Anyone who is committed to begin the entrepreneurial journey in the news industry and is passionate about their community is an outstanding candidate for The Collective.

News Catalyst, based at Temple University and supported by the Knight-Lenfest Local News Transformation Fund, is leading product and technology. LION Publishers, an association serving aspiring and existing independent news entrepreneurs, is developing the training, onboarding and community elements of the project in partnership with the Google News Initiative.

Alley Interactive contributed design work to the project. And we are working closely with Newspack, a project of WordPress.com and the Google News Initiative, to ensure that when one of our newsrooms is ready to move to their platform, the migration will be seamless.

All of our legal work has been contributed by Alexander Papachristou at Lawyers for Reporters and Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP.
Equipo de Equidad Estudiantil de la Escuela Preparatoria Orange
By: Orange County Schools
Tags: Equity, K12

Home to more than 7,500 students. We embrace cultural diversity, educate students’ to their fullest potential, and support our community.
A Risk Conscious Structure for Law Firms
By: Victor Leblanc
Tags: Law Practice Management, Equity, Legaltech, Raising Capital, Legal Research

In a professional context, a sandbox is a framework that allows an event to transpire independent of real-world limitations. As the term suggests, creative impulses enjoy a space to be exercised, allowing businesses to experiment with abstract ideas. In this case, Model Rule 5.4 will be re-examined in Arizona, Utah, and California. What was once discussed as an aspiration now portends consequential change. The sandbox will address some of the concerns state bars and like-minded attorneys have struggled with over the decades.

Instead of debating on hypotheticals that lack data to back either argument, law firms can now test their models and ideas to better understand their place in a dynamic market. How to restructure attorney compensation so that it rewards value and not inefficiency? Will raising capital provide the needed balance to the capital structure of a law firm? Will Alternative Business Structures (ABS) increase access-to-justice? What role will vertical integration play in the legal community? Solving these variables should spur an insightful discourse between state bars, lawyers, clients, and potential shareholders.

For those unfamiliar with Rule 5.4, it is an archaic restriction placed on the legal community by state bars that prevents them from raising capital from investors. Law firms are left to raise capital from other lawyers (who may themselves accumulate debt to fund these efforts) in addition to seeking loans from existing banking partners, skewing their financial health and capital structure. According to the concerns of state bars, the purpose of Rule 5.4 is to prevent attorneys from favoring shareholders over their fiduciary duty to represent their clients.

Although there are other reasons, it all boils down to the unhindered independence of an attorney. Nonetheless, these arguments are mostly fallacies with negligible evidence to back them. Misleading or corrupt behavior in the C-suite is likely embedded in the underlying dysfunctional corporate culture, not the act of raising capital.

Rule 5.4 can be classified as Malum Prohibitum, which is akin to posting a speed limit on a runway.

That traditional law firms operate in a closed-loop financing market means no established record between investors and firms. A sandbox conjures a smoother medium to introduce investors to law firms by modeling a multidisciplinary practice or ABS. In case of doctors’ offices, they participate in insurance networks whereby patients or businesses pay premiums to insurers, and those covered can access their network.

ARAG and MetLife — legal plan providers — offer memberships that lawyers can join without fee and handle cases suited to their practice. Beneficiaries can choose a legal insurance plan befitting their needs and budget. This model may expand access to legal representation by lowering costs to clients and making the experience more manageable. Furthermore, this ABS closes the asymmetry between investors and Next-Gen law firms.
5 Steps To Finding The Perfect Co-Founder For Your SaaS
By: Dan Martell
Tags: Equity, Cofounders, Founders, SaaS, Partners

If you want to start a new SaaS business in 2021 without tearing your hair out, my advice is:

Find a co-founder.

You shouldn’t have to do it all on your own… and it’s better that you don’t.

Finding the right co-founder means having someone who will work just as hard as you, can do the things you can’t, and gives your business a fighting chance in the market.

If you’re a non-technical founder, that could mean finding someone technical.

You grow the business, they build the product.

Or if you are a technical founder, then it means finding someone that can help you assemble a world-class team and market your product effortlessly while you write the code.

But picking the wrong co-founder spells D-I-S-A-S-T-E-R.

You end up losing a big slice of the most valuable asset in your business:

Equity.

Don’t ever, EVER, EVER give equity to the wrong co-founder.

So how do you find the right co-founder? How do you track them down and get them interested? How do you negotiate a fair equity split?

I’ve got you covered.

This week’s video is the 5-steps to finding the perfect co-founder for your startup.

Exclusive Download: Dream 100 — Learn How to Identify The 100 People That Will Transform Your Life

We’re going to break this down logically and uncover:

What to look for in a co-founder

Where to find a technical co-founder

How to know they are right for you

What to say on your first introduction

How to discuss equity

The safest way to split equity fairly

Every SaaS company I’ve launched has been with co-founders. I even launched Spheric with a co-founding team of 4.

Could I have launched my businesses entirely on my own? Maybe.

But growth would have been slower, I’d have torn my hair out, and my family life would have suffered.

I like working with people… and my businesses are better for it.

Yours can be too. Check out the video here and drop me a comment if you have any questions.

P.S. Prefer audio? Subscribe to the Growth Stacking Show directly on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and make sure to leave a rating and review if you find the show helpful.

—

Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. (Get access to all my latest business hacks.) He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited three tech companies: Spheric, Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on Twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.
Call to Action: Voting Reforms for More Equitable Representation in Portland
By: Portland Charter Reform Perspectives
Tags: Equity, Ranked Choice Voting, Voting Methods, City Government, Portland Oregon

Call to Action: Voting Reforms for More Equitable Representation in Portland

By Robin Ye, City Club member

Instilling belief that our democracy can be responsive to what the people want is the civic battle of our times. In Portland, our democracy demands we do no less. It’s time to think beyond merely “reforming” our eroding institutions in the City of Portland. As a society, we’ve continually changed, innovated, modernized almost every aspect of our lives — shouldn’t our system of voting be the same?

One option available to Portland is simple: introduce a charter amendment that would replace Portland’s at-large system and “choose-one” elections with ranked-choice voting, as is used in two dozen jurisdictions throughout the country (including Maine, Alaska San Francisco, and New York City). Ranked choice voting is a method where voters can rank candidates on their ballots in order of preference (e.g., 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.) and these preferences are factored in until a candidate wins a majority of the ballots (50% + 1). For example, if three candidates are running for a position and two candidates are the top choice for roughly 40% of the voters, but the third candidate gets only 20%, that third candidate would be eliminated and their votes would be redistributed based on who those voters ranked second. This “instant runoff” means that voters can better vote their conscience without fear of “wasting” their vote or playing spoiler, and the ultimate winner of the election is someone who has broad support.

Furthermore, eliminating the city’s primary election — where turnout is considerably lower than in the general election and disproportionately older, whiter, and wealthier — would help address the problem of vote splitting, thereby empowering voters with more choices and encouraging candidates who represent the interests of communities of color to run for office. In November 2020, 85% of eligible voters in Portlander selected their government versus 55% in May. Yet, the races are often decided in May. This means that tens of thousands of voters might not have gotten to choose their preferred candidate during the election.

In order to rectify societal and systemic inequities in our nation, we must address societal and systemic inequities in our local representative democracy. I encourage the Charter Review Commission and the Portland City Council rise to meet this moment in history and replace the commission form of government with a more equitable system.
Hablemos en Serio!
Tags: Equity, Latinos, Pedestrians, Community Engagement, Transportation

By: Mauricio Hernandez, Senior Planning Associate, Alta Planning + Design

Mauricio Hernandez, left, in the field prior to Covid-19 restrictions.

For years now, many of us who work with(in) POC communities, and in particular those of us who vivimos por nuestras comunidades Latinas, continue to experience how historical one-size-fits-all approaches to “improving transportation networks” have been detrimental to the safety and livability of our communities. Surprise: nuestras comunidades are multicultural, extremely diverse, and our needs vary throughout the US.

As a Colombian-American, my work has focused on improving transportation options for mi comunidad. I believe that making concerted and informed investments on improving transportation for POC communities will improve access to and representation for these communities.

To explore all aspects of equity in transportation with particular attention to the Latino community, I recently participated in a year-long working group with other transportation and planning professionals in communities throughout the US. The results of this exchange are two reports written by my colleagues from Salud America! at UT Health San Antonio:
Bombay Oxygen Investments — Mispricing
By: Pankaj Gupta
Tags: Equity, Stock Market, Stock Market Tips, Personal Finance, Investing

Finding Mispricing Stocks Continues, with new addition is Bombay Oxygen Investments, which has a Mcap of 158 Cr. but holding MFs and Shares worth 215.7 Cr. (discounted).

Compared to earlier stocks, where people have might countered saying we have applied less HoldCo discount, here that reason might not be valid.

My logic is

1) These stocks can be a good play on the market movement

2) Why any individual should create a porfolio of MFs and Stocks, buy just one of them and chill.

So the journey for Finding Mispricing Opportunity and their reason persists!!

#investments #markets #investing #stocks #personalfinance
Fauci’s message to Black people about COVID-19 Vaccines is condescending at best.
By: Melissa A. Matthews
Tags: Equity, BlackLivesMatter, Race Relations, Health, Covid-19

Fauci’s message to Black people about COVID-19 Vaccines is condescending at best.

Today or maybe yesterday, Dr. Anthony Fauci — a man I had deep respect for until this moment — went on national T.V. in the United States and when asked about the low number of African Americans/Black people polled who were willing to take a COVID-19 vaccine said something along the lines of “a Black woman developed it, so Black people should take it.”

Whew Chile! I don’t even know where to begin with the tomfoolery that is that statement. The premise is faulty. We — Black people — do not operate just based on skin color. We are not a monolith. We have disparate ideas, values, and apprehensions surrounding this vaccine and the fact that it was developed by a Black person is salve for none of them.
2020 Chronicles: A year of anguish, despair, uncertainty & hope.
By: Dr. Amy Tan
Tags: Racial Justice, 2020, Equity, Covid Chronicles, Covid 19

Here are some of my stories that captured the many intense emotions and thoughts that I had at various points during this past year, given the COVID-19 pandemic and the racial reckoning that came finally after the horrific death of George Floyd and too many others in the USA and Canada at the hands of law enforcement.

I can only hope we don’t return to “normal” or the “status quo”. That all the inequitites in North American society that COVID-19 has shone a bright light to and exacerbated are not ignored, and we will actually move forward with meaningful change on racial justice and equity in so many realms in our society.

Some of my COVID Chronicles that I wrote and published online can be found here:

I also wrote an Op-Ed with my friend and colleague in response to the racial reckoning in the spring of 2020 and a call for allyship (or co-resisters):
A Letter on How the Coronavirus Pandemic Has Shaped My Instruction This Semester
By: David P. Carter
Tags: Equity, Online Teaching, Pedagogy, Higher Education, Covid 19

Of course, online coursework raises its own social equity concerns, as people have differing levels of access to technology and high-speed internet. I encourage you to let me know if you face any such difficulties. The Marriott Library has laptops you can check out for home use: as of the time of this writing, you can email the Union Services Desk with your name, UNID, phone number, and mailing address and a library laptop will be mailed out within two business days. For internet, Xfinity WiFi locations are currently free to access and you can request a mobile hotspot from the University. These resources notwithstanding, requiring synchronous (real-time) virtual gatherings incorrectly assumes equal access to high-speed internet and burdens students who’s professional, family, and personal lives remain disrupted in the context of COVID-19.

​Taking these reasons into account, I’ve designed this course such that it can be completed entirely online in a flexible (few real-time meetings, either virtual or in person) manner — without sacrificing any of the opportunities, quality, or rigor of an in-person class. I’ve done so by leveraging careful digital pedagogy and the particular strengths that an online format allows, such as course “videocasts,” engaging readings, and ample opportunities for genuine (digital) interaction. I am further implementing the following to ensure a flexible, valuable, and rewarding class experience for all:

I will maintain a sub-36 hour turn around on emails and Canvas messages, except in the case of emergencies, weekends, or times when I am “offline” for more than a day (which I will notify you of beforehand).

I will hold regular office hours, scheduled to take into account student availability, during which I will be available in real time for online text exchanges (using this site’s chat feature), video chats (via Zoom or ConexED), or phone. I am also happy to schedule meetings via any of these methods outside of posted office hours.

Finally, important synchronous class meetings will be recorded and posted to the course Canvas to support greater equity for of students who cannot/prefer not to meet synchronously. However, individual and small-group meetings will not be recorded, and I will proactively announce any time a meeting is.

I realize that this decision may be met with disappointment among some — and I regret this. I would like you to know that it also pains me, as the most fulfilling aspect of being a professor is interacting with the talented, thoughtful, and dedicated public servants (either in training or in practice) that I know you are. Nonetheless, I believe this to be the most (truly, the only) responsible decision for me to make under current circumstances. And, I promise you that this will not be a second-rate experience — we’ve got a great semester ahead!

​Sincerely,

​Prof David Carter
Why We Need to Change How We Speak To and About Younger Generations
By: Jeff Horton
Tags: Equity, Jeff Horton, Society, Generation Gap

As one generation of people fulfills their lives, another is constantly rising behind them to follow in their footsteps. Even though the faces of the people inhabiting this earth change over time, the earth they live on remains constant. Just as the older generation has already experienced most of their lives, the younger generation is just beginning their journeys through existence here on this planet.

The older generation’s responsibility is to encourage, uplift, and prepare the younger people to make the world a better place.

According to journalist Luca J. Peterson, the younger generation seems to be progressing towards working with passion rather than working only for a paycheck. They tend to want to enjoy their work and find some sort of fulfillment in it.

Many young people are driven by the dream of “changing the world around them,” causing a spike in global advocacy for change in areas such as international relations, environmentalism, and humanitarian efforts. The younger generation views life as an opportunity to make things better for themselves and the people around them.

It is important to speak words of encouragement and support to young people who are striving for greatness — if they are continuously put down or criticized by people of the older generation, their efforts could become less concentrated on bettering the world and more focused on proving the older generation wrong. If the world constantly built up the people who were fighting for positive change in societies worldwide, there would be a lot more positive change to occur.

We also need to change the way we talk about the younger generation. Many have called millennials and “Gen Z” the “generation of instant gratification” due to the rapid advancements in technology and communication we’ve seen in our time.

These people are stereotyped as lazy, self-centered, and “soft.” Removing these stereotypes and encouraging the opposite behaviors in younger people can inspire them to continue striving for positive change in their lives and the world around them. If they are constantly put down and belittled, how can they be expected to fight for good?

Changing how we talk to and about the younger generation is vital to ensuring that they are prepared, motivated, and supported enough to continue making the world a better place for themselves and the next generation to follow them. Why not be a part of such a positive movement?
M1 Money Supply vs. S&P 500 Index
By: Paul Mangione
Tags: Equity, Inflation, Money, Federal Reserve, Economics

Comparison on M1 Money Supply to S&P 500 Index — 2011–2020

In Early March 2020, M1 Money Supply was at $4 Trillion. Today, M1 Supply has been increased by 55% to $6.2 Trillion as S&P 500 Index is at record highs.

Paul Mangione

Fort Schuyler Advisors

Web: www.ftschuyler.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/paul__mangione
What does it take to ensure equitable energy service?
Tags: Low Income, Equity, Utilities, Energy, Covid 19

New video breaks down the essential building blocks

Access to energy service is not a luxury — it is essential for every household’s health, safety, and wellbeing. But for far too many Americans for far too long — and for so many more due to the coronavirus pandemic — keeping the lights on is not an equal opportunity proposition.

Year in and year out, tens of millions of US households are continually vulnerable to losing essential energy services due to rising energy burdens and debt. These are households living on the lowest incomes, including many elderly, who are spending the highest percentage of their total income on utility bills. In fact, utility bill payment is the number one reason that consumers take payday, or other short-term, high-interest loans — a debt trap that leads many to bankruptcy.

Rather than keeping their customers caught in an ever-increasing debt spiral, utilities and regulators can and should institute better protections for vulnerable households — during times of crisis, and all year ’round.

This new video breaks down the five key steps energy companies and regulators must take to ensure equitable energy service for all Americans. The recommendations are based on expert research and analysis from the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC), Vote Solar, Pace Energy and Climate Center, and others.

Because access to energy service is essential for all.

Links to learn more:
This is such a great story and we need this right now.
By: Agnes Laurens
Tags: Equity, Classical Music, Race, Culture, Racism

This is such a great story and we need this right now. I am such a classical music lover, an amateur violinist.

I went to concerts since I was a little child. I always have seen white people in the audience: when playing myself as well as when I went to concerts. This issue you mentioned never caught my attention until I read your story. I never thought about it.

Now I will think about it more often. Thank you very much for this great story and let me think about it.

To me, you're an inspiration, and I have seen some work of yours — conducting as well as writing, and you're good!!!
Why you should not invest in Property.
By: Investment Hub
Tags: Malta, Equity, Education, Real Estate, Investing

There, its finally been said!

Malta’s property market has seen incredible growth in the past couple of decade’s due to the introduction of residency/passport schemes, foreign investments and a booming tourism industry.

Although this has been great for the wider Maltese economy, its also come along with its own consequences. Such as, a somewhat unsustainable increase in property prices, and the rise of questionable large-scale developments all over the island.

‘Bażikament, torrijiet u krejniet kull fejn tħares!’

If you’re a property developer, speculator, investor or an estate agency, then you probably did pretty well for yourselves over the past few years, benefitting from the over-inflated property prices.

But what if you’re not?

Well then, you’re probably facing the same struggle as the remaining 60–70% of the Maltese population who are within a certain wage bracket, and/or are just starting out their careers (such as ourselves).

So before delving into the facts, and the grim reality, we’d like to note that we’re analysing property primarily as an investment (i.e for rental income and/or capital gain purposes) and not for your own inhabitance.
Initial Equity Grants vs Refreshes
By: Cody A. Ray
Tags: Equity, CFO, Options, Startup

I’ve been wondering why startups take a different approach for the initial grants in year 1 vs refresh grants in years 3–4+? That is, when you join you get a big grant in year 1 with no more grants for 3–4 years. But once you start getting refreshers, you often get smaller annual grants (that still vest over 4 years) instead of another big grant.

From the employees’ perspective, it would be much more exercise- and tax- efficient if instead of “a new grant every year” (with an increasing strike price) we were given another large 4 year grant with the lower strike price at the beginning of the refresh period.

I asked someone who’s been around a while and he said

This is something that is decided purely from the CFO’s and CPO’s perspective.

I’ve asked my CFO but haven’t heard back (yet?).

If anyone knows why startups treat refreshes different from initial grants, leave a comment!

In the meantime, I ran through a scenario to understand its implications a bit more. While doing this I realized that this also greatly decreases the number of shares. Maybe the assumption is that after 4 years, the options should be more valuable, the employees are already invested, or they’re just more likely to leave sooner. So maybe that’s why companies like it.

Let’s run through a comparison.

Say you get 100k options. You can get them in a single grant in year 1 (“Plan A”), or you can get 1/4 in a smaller grant each year, but still vesting over 4 years (“Plan B”).

Plan A: 100k options at $1 strike = $100k to exercise

Plan B: year 1–25k options at $1 strike, year 2–25k options at $2, year 3–25k options at $4 strike, year 4–25k options at $6 strike = $325k to exercise 100k options.

However, Plan B also changes your vesting schedule. At the end of 4 years, you won’t have 100k options. You’ll have 62,500 options.

in year 1 you’d vest 25k/12=2k per mo

in year 2 you’d vest 50k/12=4k per mo

in year 3 you’d vest 75k/12=6k per mo

in year 4 you’d vest 100k/12=8k per mo

from years 5 on (assuming annual 25k grants, instead of smaller ones) you’d continue vesting 8k per mo

So by the end of year 4, you’d only have 62,500 vested options. And those 62,500 vested options would cost you $150k to exercise. Showing our work:

62,500 options is 25000/4*4 (from year 1) + 25000/4*3 (year 2) + 25000/4*2 (year 3) +25000/4*1 (year 4).

$150k exercise price is 25000*4/4*$1+25000/4*3*$2+25000/4*2*$4+25000/4*$6

RESULTS

If you decided to leave at the end of 4 years and exercise everything,

Plan A: you’d pay $100k to get 100,000 shares

Plan B: you’d pay $150k to get 62,500 shares

And this doesn’t account for other potential tax consequences of having a higher strike price in latter years…. But Plan A is clearly superior.
Startup Equity 101: Cashing Out Your Equity
By: Andrew Wei
Tags: Equity, Rsu, Options, Startup

Company acquisition

At face value, acquisitions are simple: someone comes in and buys the company. Behind the scenes though, there is a lot of complex negotiations that go into the deal and the outcome of those negotiations will impact what happens to your equity.¹ Generally speaking, once your company is acquired, your vested equity will be converted into either cash, or stock in the new company. Depending on the specifics of the acquisition, you may or may not have an option to choose between the two.

Converting Stock Options

A couple of scenarios may occur for vested stock options:

1. The options may be “bought out” by the acquiring company. Your vested options may just be converted to its cash equivalent based on the acquisition value of the company.

2. The options may convert to new options contracts, but for stock in the new company. The acquiring company swaps out your vested options for an equivalent amount of options in the new company, value-wise.

Converting RSUs and Common Stock

Similar to stock options, vested RSUs or common stock owned from the exercise of options may be bought out and converted directly to cash, or they may be converted into an equivalent dollar amount of RSUs/stock shares of the new company.

Unvested Equity and Accelerated Vesting

Based on the details of the acquisition, one of two things may happen to the unvested portion of your equity grant: the company may choose to replace your grants with a new equity package, or they may offer to “accelerate” the vesting of your remaining equity.

Accelerated vesting basically means the company gives you the unvested portion of your equity sooner than you would have received it otherwise. While accelerated vested sounds like great news, it usually comes with a series of conditions or caveats that need to be satisfied first. The conditions, also called triggers, are usually dependent on decisions made by the company’s board of directors or specifics based on the nature of the acquisition.

Factors to be aware of for accelerated vesting:

1. Accelerated vesting triggers

2. Percentage of outstanding unvested equity that is eligible for accelerated vesting

3. Timing of the accelerated vesting event

Closing and Escrow

Once an acquisition is announced, the company goes into closing as it finalizes the details of the acquisition. During the closing period, shares can’t be bought/exercised or sold and no equity or cash will be transferred over to you until the deal is closed. The length of the closing period can vary, with complex deals potentially taking up to a year or longer to close, so don’t expect to be able to access that cash anytime soon.

Additionally, post-closing, a percentage, say 10%, of your earned cash/stock may temporarily be held “in escrow”. The specifics of the acquisition may require a percentage of the awarded equity to be held back in case any issues arise post-closing that require an adjustment to your payout.
Diversity in Dolls: It’s More Than Child’s Play
By: Mishon Landry
Tags: Equity, Inclusion, Diversity

This awareness has the potential to create positive and negative outcomes depending on each child’s personal experience.

For a number of years, the majority of dolls on the shelf had an hour glass shape and were blond haired and blue eyed, which has traditionally been the polar opposite of Miss Universe, which typically had darker hair and eyes.

It was rare to find dolls that resembled individuals in the ‘real’ world. Particularly those that were more shapely, possessed visible disabilities and with darker pigments.

However, in today’s society, the doll industry has come to realize that dolls, just like children, should be available in a variety of shapes, sizes, skin colors, hair textures, and abilities.

It has been researched that having a cultural variety of dolls in both homes and schools encourages a child’s self-confidence, self-acceptance, self-esteem and cultural identity, which are critical for a child’s development.

When a child can see him or herself through the eyes of a doll, it not only affirms their existence, but it also sends a message to the child that they belong and are part of the community.

Additionally, having diverse dolls can be opportunities to teach children important lessons about other races, cultures, and accessibility norms.

In 1947, Ebony Magazine a leading monthly magazine for the African-American market, founded in 1945 by John H. Johnson in Chicago, published an article titled, “Problem Kids: New Harlem clinic rescues ghetto youth from emotional short circuit.”

The above article goes on to describe psychiatric research conducted on self esteem and segregation, using what came to be known as the “Doll Test.”

In a 1940’s experiment, African-American children were given the choice between a white doll and a black doll, each child was asked to select the one that most represented positive character traits versus negative traits.

Based upon the color of the doll’s skin only, each African American child overwhelmingly selected the white doll and assigned it as the one with more positive character traits.

This study has been replicated many times, over the decades with other minority children and yet the outcomes yielded similar results.

The unfortunate part is, not only does this continue to perpetuate over the years, but little has been done to move the needle regarding the importance of representation in advertising multicultural dolls positively in the media.

While many diverse dolls currently exist, the doll manufacturers and marketing teams have done very little in the media to promote this diversity.
Powerful, and completely aligns with my experience. Thank you for writing this!
By: Jennifer
Tags: Equity, Diversity, Inclusion

Powerful, and completely aligns with my experience. Thank you for writing this!
I do a similar type of research from my local perspective in rural Maine.
By: Mackenzie Andersen
Tags: Equity, Cities, Gentrification, Diversity, Social Issues

I do a similar type of research from my local perspective in rural Maine. The issues are different but planned gentrification is a common thread.

Over a decade ago I started reading the statutes that established and entrenched the centrally managed economy in Maine which was deemed into existence by the Maine Legislature in 1976.

After over a decade of researching Maine statutes, I happened across an obscure federal act passed in 1968 The United States Intergovernmental Cooperation Act of 1968, Public Law 90–577. This law establishes a centrally managed wealth redistribution economy of America and instructs the states to change their Constitutions and municipalities their ordinances in order to qualify for federal grants. Now I can see that the establishment of the Maine centrally managed economy, which was brought about by violating our State Constitution, flowed from this federal act. Through wealth redistribution the federal government dictates local municipal ordinances and organizes communities into class structures. Such would naturally happen in a free enterprise system but not in the same way.

The centrally managed economy of the USA was enacted in 1968. Every economic analysis I have ever read attributes the rise of the wealth divide as starting in the 1970’s. However I have not encountered anyone discussing The United States Intergovernmental Cooperation Act of 1968, Public Law 90–577 and I only came across it by sheer happenstance. It is my definition of successful progressivism. The power to centrally manage the economy is not an enumerated federal power but the act was passed without much media attention, back in the day when all we had was the Six O'clock news. It was predated by the War on Poverty targeting the most distressed classes, and the National Endowments for the Arts grant program. as if those programs were paving the way for a totally centrally managed economy of the USA.

Managing the distribution of wealth is like controlling the flow of a river through farmland, It affects everything. But it is what it is. Today it has become the system and is hard to undo except by a most incremental pathway. At least it begins by becoming aware of it and considering other alternatives.

Looking backward is essential to understand where we are headed.
The Brave Words of a 17-Year-Old Partisan Before Being Executed
By: Andrei Tapalaga
Tags: History, World War II, Culture, Life Lessons, Heroes

The Brave Words of a 17-Year-Old Partisan Before Being Executed

Lepa Svetozara Radić being escorted by German Soldiers to be executed (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

It is difficult to make the irrational choice of murdering an enemy when you know that after this action the consequence will be paid with the same bullet. Even if they have murdered your whole family in front of your very eyes, our instinct is to do anything possible to survive. History has shown us that some would die for their country so they can honor it.

However, one brave soul made the decision of taking justice into her own hands as she had the right to and condemn those that had wronged her with death. Lepa Svetozara Radić was a Bosnian Serb member of the Yugoslav Partisans in World War II. She joined the partisans because she wanted to avenge the death of her parents and protect those that didn’t have the courage to fight against the German invasion.

Sadly, one party of Yugoslav Partisans had fallen in the hands of the German troops and they were all executed for killing German soldiers. It was Lepa that did not go out without a fight. In February of 1943, she was up for execution for shooting at German troops. What is more surprising and the reason as to why I have said ‘a girl’ is because this happened when she was only 17 years of age.

Lepa Svetozara Radić having a noose tied around her neck in 1943 (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

As her execution was prepared, a German commander wanted to offer her a way out of her sentence in exchange for revealing the location and identities of her leaders. Her response shocked not only the soldiers but the entire world.

She responded by saying that she wasn’t a traitor and that her comrades from the Yugoslavian Partisan party would reveal their location as well as identities themselves when they came to avenge her death. It is incredible the courage that this teenager, or better yet, hero showed, even when faced with death.

However, those were not her last words. As the German troops were waiting for the order to push the chair she was standing on she has shouted these last words:

“Long live the Communist Party, and partisans! Fight, people, for your freedom! Do not surrender to the evildoers! I will be killed, but there are those who will avenge me!”

These words would have just shown the braveness of not only such a teenager but the partisans as a whole. Even with how outgunned they were, that did not matter to them as they knew that the Reich would fall and crumble someday. This can be seen in Lepa’s last words. No matter if she did make the ultimate sacrifice, her death would be avenged which would bring her soul a step closer to victory.

It is imperative to realize that unlike others that died throughout World War II, she had a choice and she chose to die with her dignity and honor.
10 Fascinating Places to Go to Learn About WWII and Christian History
By: Terracotta Travel
Tags: Luxury Travel, Christianity, History, World War II

From religion and politics to conflict and revolution, stories of the past create the richness of the present — which is why one of the best ways to get to know a culture or destination is by taking a walk through its history. We’ve put together this guide to 10 places around the world where you can learn about the history and consequences of religion, colonialism, and World War II through moving monuments, acclaimed architecture, and thought-provoking exhibitions.

1. Germany

Germany’s approach to reflection and healing after the atrocities of WWII has resulted in an array of thoughtful and deeply moving public monuments, museums, and memorials. In Berlin, you’ll find the Topography of Terror, one of the city’s most visited places of remembrance. Set on the former site of the Nazi’s primary instruments of persecution, the Gestapo and SS headquarters, the location has been transformed into a sensitive and poignant exhibition which runs alongside the longest surviving stretch of the Berlin Wall. Nearby, you can visit the deeply affecting Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, also known as the Holocaust Memorial. An accessible open-air structure spanning 19,000 square feet, the memorial is made up of over 2000 concrete slabs of different sizes, which you are invited to explore up-close, and engage with and interpret in your own personal way.