Vesting acceleration lets some or all of an employee's or founder's unvested equity vest immediately upon a specific event, most commonly an acquisition, rather than continuing on the normal schedule.
Single-trigger acceleration vests equity immediately when the triggering event happens, typically a sale of the company. Double-trigger acceleration, far more common in practice, requires two events: the sale, plus the employee actually being let go or having their role meaningfully changed within a set window afterward. Double-trigger is generally preferred by acquirers and investors, since it protects employees from being fired right after a sale without also handing everyone a windfall the moment any deal closes.
For a founder negotiating their own acceleration terms, or setting policy for early employees, the choice matters most in exactly the scenario it's designed for: a sale where the acquirer wants to keep the team. Founders with generous single-trigger acceleration can look less attractive to an acquirer specifically worried about retention after the deal closes.
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