US customers can now convert unvested options to shares while keeping the original vesting schedule, giving founders and employees more flexibility in managing their equity.
Early exercise allows option holders to purchase shares before they're fully vested, which can provide significant tax advantages when done strategically and allowed in your company's docs. With this update, Cake makes it simple to enable and manage early exercise at both the pool and individual grant level.
What's new:
- Toggle early exercise on/off at the equity pool level or for individual grants
- Set flexible exercise amounts with automatic calculations
- View clear status indicators when early exercise has occurred
- Access 30-day 83(b) election reminders with downloadable forms
- Track unvested portions as "Share Vesting" following the original schedule
The system includes built-in guidance to help you make informed decisions, with warnings when early exercise doesn't make sense for certain grant types. Your stakeholder portfolio stays organized with proper labeling throughout the process.
Enable early exercise, choose your amount, and let the system handle the rest—from converting options to vesting shares to providing timely 83(b) reminders.
