SpaceX employees going to work on the day of their company's IPO.
Mike Blake/REUTERS
Looking into your peers' pockets is a bad habit. But good luck telling Blue Origin employees that.For most of us, SpaceX's eye-popping IPO showed us investors' eagerness to back Elon Musk and his space and AI ambitions. For employees of Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin, the other rocket company, it was a reminder of what could have been.BI's Tom Carter reports on the FOMO among some Blue Origin workers watching their SpaceX rivals' net worths skyrocket while theirs stay firmly grounded.Conversations with former Blue Origin employees revealed how the company's old stock options plan essentially left them holding lottery tickets. Workers could sell their shares, which had a 10-year lifespan, only in the event of a sale or if the company went public.That's unlike most other tech startups, where employees can sell shares during private liquidity events such as additional funding rounds. And since most workers knew Bezos was unlikely to sell or bring Blue Origin public, their stock options didn't feel like much of an option at all."You technically hold this document, but it would almost be like telling someone, 'Hey, you have the rights to buy the house in your neighborhood next to you if the sun doesn't rise tomorrow,'" one former employee said.More recently, Blue Origin has updated its equity plan with more ways to cash out. But that's little solace for former employees who have seen their rivals get filthy rich.
