To be super basic, when employees of a company are given equity, they are given stock options (contracts, essentially) that grant them the ability to purchase shares in the company they work for at a discounted price. Those options aren't worth much in the short term because they can't be recouped for cash until after a predetermined vesting period — typically four years, Forbes writer William Baldwin says. But if workers are willing to wait it out where they are, they may win big. Options have become a popular offering at startups and tech companies, where the valuation of those companies can skyrocket seemingly overnight (if the company goes public for example, or if it receives an influx of VC funding).