> What? As the grandparent implied, when RSUs vest, they turn into shares of stock, which makes the employee a shareholder.
Most RSUs for private companies (especially those issued by companies as old as Reddit) are double trigger, not single trigger. They don't turn into stock at vesting because that would be a taxable event. They turn into stock after the second trigger, which is a liquidity event (IPO or acquisition).
Most RSUs for private companies (especially those issued by companies as old as Reddit) are double trigger, not single trigger. They don't turn into stock at vesting because that would be a taxable event. They turn into stock after the second trigger, which is a liquidity event (IPO or acquisition).