RSUs at Ancestry
Hi everyone, My brother (not on Blind) is interviewing with Ancestry and things are looking quite positive. He is currently with Microsoft and has never worked in any company that isn’t public. So he isn’t sure how the RSUs work at a non-public company. The recruiter told him that RSUs are part of the comp and they vest over 4 years. But he said that those can be cashed out only when an event happens - such as the company going public. Can someone here help us understand how RSUs work at Ancestry? Is it just worthless? Or is there a way those can be converted to real money even if the company doesn’t go public or get acquired? Brother TC - 220K (non tech) Brother YOE - 5 My TC - 270K YOE - 7
220k for non tech damn
Also remember that the private equity sometimes vests slightly different .. like 25% year 1 through 3 and remaining at the change of ownership..
Look it up, ancestry was supposed to ipo back in 2019. Something happened and they ended up getting sold. Afaik any share is worthless now. Also ancestry pays below market rate so $250k for a 5yo sounds a little SUS. It's a company headquartered in Utah
The question is simply how RSUs work in a non-public company. Not about why they did or didn’t IPO. We already know they’re not a public company. The question is also not about whether the numbers offered to him are sus or not. $250K for 5 YO is pretty normal for the non-tech domain he is in even for mid-sized companies. Doesn’t matter where they’re headquartered. The position is in the Bay Area.
Then why title it RSUs at ancestry? I gave you company specific information because you made it sound like you were asking about ancestry's potential. It does matter where they are headquartered, companies from outside the bay area with bay area offices typically do not match bay area salaries of companies headquartered here. Anyways don't know about non engg roles but I know two ancestry employees one in Utah and one in the bay area, know quite a bit about the company through them. They don't have any exit options. No chance of an ipo or a buyout. Wouldn't recommend. But you don't seem interested so I am out. Good luck
Interested to see how RSUs work at private equity as well. Btw what level at Ancestry?
The way the deal works, as I recall it, is it is a 4-year for full vesting; 25% after 1 year, then equal quarterly vesting after that. As for selling, you have to wait for some sort of event that makes the shares liquid, such as the company selling to a different private equity firm. If you leave the company, the company has an option to purchase the shares from you, or let you keep them. Short of that, you are not allowed to sell Ancestry shares. They do pay an occasional dividend, so the shares aren't worthless as you wait to sell.
Feel free to DM, but basically you can’t sell until either another liquidity event such as an acquisition, ipo, or share buybacks, and those usually happen almost every 4 years. I’ve also seen many former employees get bought out when they leave (or they kept the vested RSUs if not)
Hey thank you! My brother declined the offer since he had another offer with a higher comp. He also mentioned to me that the team seemed somewhat flaky and each interviewer he spoke with described the role differently. He kept asking questions to get more clarity but was getting very different (and vague) answers from the interviewers. One interviewer repeatedly kept talking about a peer that they would frequently work with. But when my brother looked up that peer on LinkedIn, she was already laid off from Ancestry recently and was looking for work. So the interviewer had no clue! Considering that he had a better offer, he felt it was best to accept that. But the info you’ve shared is super helpful. It actually is the only response that answers the question I had asked. Thank you, again!
Op, thank you for circling back. I'm considering interviewing with them and this thread is helpful!
Didn't ancestry already go public via SPAC? Anyways, as the equity vests it can be sold on public markets if it is publicly tradeable, else it can be sold in private deals, either via private equity exchanges or via lawyers.
No. You might be talking about 23&me. Ancestry used to be public but was subsequently acquired by a private equity group.
Ah sorry yes 23&me is what I was thinking of.