Ask HN: Founder selling some shares
FWIW, This same type of event DID demotivate me and a lot of my co-workers who were early employees at a startup (now 1000+ person company).  The company raised a round and the founders sold off some of their shares.  We knew because they bought nice cars&#x2F;houses after the event.  Our shares got diluted.<p>From our perspective, it seemed like a slight vote of no confidence in the company and a little unfair to us that we didn&#x27;t get the chance to sell shares whereas they did.  You lose a bit of that &quot;we&#x27;re in this together&quot; vibe that makes it organically motivating to work at a place.<p>Just my 2c, but consider arranging a situation where employees can sell up to a percentage of their options as well.  A small percentage makes the eventual payoff palpable and will reduce resentment.  You&#x27;ll likely need to sustain the high levels of motivation for your fast-growing startup to continue it&#x27;s success.