Not all private company equity is equal.
A unicorn valuation means nothing if employees cannot exercise, finance, or sell. The Equity Freedom Score measures how restrictive a company's equity actually is for the people who earn it.
How restrictive is your company's equity?
Employees learn the restrictions after it is too late.
Eight dimensions of employee equity liquidity.
Exercise window
90 days? 1 year? 7 years?How long do departing employees have to exercise vested options before they expire?
Third-party financing
Allowed, blocked, or unclear?Can employees use providers like Secfi, ESO Fund, or EquityBee to fund their exercise?
Forward contracts
Permitted or prohibited?Does the company allow employees to enter VPFCs or participating forwards against their shares?
Tender offer frequency
Annual, occasional, or never?How often does the company offer structured buyback events for employee shares?
Blackout behavior
Predictable or disruptive?Do blackout windows overlap with exercise deadlines or lock-up periods?
ROFR and transfer clarity
Transparent or opaque?Is the right of first refusal process documented, timely, and predictable?
Company cooperation
Responsive or hostile?Does the company assist with third-party transactions, or does it obstruct them?
Employee outcomes
Do people actually monetize?Have employees successfully exercised, financed, or sold equity at this company?
From real employee experiences. Not company marketing.
The Equity Freedom Score is computed from structured reviews submitted by employees who have gone through the exercise, financing, or liquidity process at their company. Every data point comes from someone who lived it.
You review your experience with a liquidity provider at your company
Your review includes structured data: approval, timing, cooperation, outcome
Scores aggregate across employees to reveal each company's real liquidity posture
Help build the score.
If you have worked with a liquidity provider or tried to exercise, finance, or sell equity at a private company, your experience is the data. Reviews are anonymous by default.
Find your provider and leave a reviewFree account required to submit a review.
Candidates evaluating offers
Before you accept a private company offer with equity, know whether employees can actually use it. The score reveals restrictions that never appear in offer letters.
Employees facing a deadline
If your exercise window is ticking, you need to know whether your company cooperates with financing providers, how long the ROFR takes, and whether others have successfully monetized.
Anyone negotiating equity terms
Know which terms to push on. Extended PTEPs, third-party financing clauses, and tender access are negotiable if you know to ask.
Equity Freedom Score FAQ
What is the Equity Freedom Score?
The Equity Freedom Score is a community-powered measure of how easy or difficult it is for employees at a specific private company to exercise, finance, and sell their equity. It aggregates structured data from real employee reviews across eight dimensions: exercise window length, third-party financing access, forward contract eligibility, tender offer frequency, blackout behavior, ROFR transparency, company cooperation, and employee monetization outcomes.
How is the score calculated?
The score is built from structured review data submitted by employees who have gone through the equity exercise or liquidity process at their company. When reviewing a liquidity provider, employees can optionally answer questions about their company's equity policies. These answers are aggregated across all reviews for a given company to produce the score. More reviews mean a more reliable score.
Why should I care about my company's equity restrictions?
Private company equity is often marketed as a wealth-building benefit, but the fine print determines whether you can actually use it. A 90-day post-termination exercise window means you could lose hundreds of thousands of dollars in vested equity if you leave. A company that blocks third-party financing forces you to self-fund or forfeit. These restrictions are rarely disclosed in offer letters but fundamentally determine whether your equity is real wealth or a locked position.
Is the Equity Freedom Score a recommendation to join or avoid a company?
No. The score is an informational tool that surfaces real employee experiences. It does not recommend for or against any company or investment decision. StrikeRates operates as a technology and information infrastructure platform and does not provide investment, legal, or tax advice.
How do I contribute to the score for my company?
Find the liquidity provider you worked with in the StrikeRates provider directory, then leave a review. The review form includes optional questions about your company's equity policies (exercise window, financing access, tender frequency, blackout impact). Your answers are anonymous by default and contribute to the aggregate score for your company.
StrikeRates is a technology and information infrastructure platform for private-market equity workflows. StrikeRates is not a broker-dealer, investment advisor, or tax advisor. The Equity Freedom Score is an informational tool based on aggregated employee experiences. It is not a rating, endorsement, or recommendation of any company or investment strategy.