Are ESOP's real?

Real? Yes. Worthy? Maybe not unless you got lucky

They’re real if your company is listed. Probably if your company isn’t listed but has revenue. BS if your company has 2 months of runway left.

Yes they are real. Though it depends a lot on luck whether you will make money or not but if u do, it can be a lot more than your annual ctc. When Zomato ipoed, almost all techies who have been there for more than 3-4 years made good cash, most of them more than 1cr. And the more senior ones even 5cr.

As a wise person once said: ESOPs are dreams until they become legendary reality

Lost over 2 lakhs worth of ESOPs in my last startup. Company closed with no buyer, hence ESOP was literally worthless. I think company spent more on ESOP software and management than actually giving any benefit out of the ESOP.

Yes they are, once the company goes into IPO and especially if it’s getting listed on nasdaq then you can easily make upto 1 crore, more or less

This might help mate: https://youtu.be/oDirNOa_SPc

Purely depends on how well you understand the future of your company. ESOPs from a company you truly believe in are great. Otherwise they are more often than not, absolutely useless. Given by founders who want to pay their employees in fiction under the garb of getting your “skin in the game”

How often you have conversations with the higher ups about ESOPs and the path to vesting them can help with identifying green or red flags. Most ESOPs are khyali pulao (daydreams).