As a veteran of 10 startup/turnaround companies, which have generated over $2 billion in shareholder value, I have come across many different issues in all functional areas: product, sales, marketing, operations, finance, human resources to list a few. Of the ten companies, two remain privately held companies, five were acquired, and two became publicly held companies on the NASDAQ exchange prior to their acquisition, so I can share experiences about going through the process.
I also spent time as a sponsored tri-athlete.
I've been through several acquisitions and a few IPOs. If the company is acquired, you should contact the CEO and the CFO to ask the price per share at which the company was acquired. If you have vested options, they should send you a letter letting you know whether your options are "in the money" should you choose to exercise them (your exercise price is lower than the acquisition price per share). If the company has an IPO, then look up the price of the shares and figure out if your shares are "in the money" (your exercise price is lower than the IPO price) and read through your options agreement and the company's S-1 filing to find out if there is a mandatory holding period before you can sell any shares you may purchase through your options.
In an acquisition scenario, you are either exercising or not. In an IPO situation, depending upon your exercise price and the number of options you intend to exercise, there may be tax consequences you'll want to take into account and timing of exercise. If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact me.
I don't think the answer is in the platform/software, but what reports are being generated and what is being measured. Depending upon what your expansion plans are you'll measure different numbers. If you'd like to drill down on growth planning, we can get on a call and I can diagnose where you are and share my experiences with you.
A phantom equity grant essentially gives the recipient the right to receive a cash bonus equivalent to what they would have received if they held a profit interest. However, the holder is not a member of the LLC and has no equity interest.
Companies that will have the resources to setup and manage a large aggregated program will most likely be large public companies whose existence as a company won't go out of business and their points are trusted to be usable. A place where you can buy from one entity and use among many entities: points.com and American Express.