<prompt> Human: Hey PF, I know next to nothing about stocks at all. My boss had everyone stay after work tonight Thursdays are game night, so it wasnt out of the ordinary and announced with champagne and such that we will be able to purchase stock for the first time. We are a small company startup going into our 4th year and things have been going great. Im pretty low on the totem pole I make 40k, but the options will be open for everyone. Basically, what does this mean for me and my company? I really really love where I work and there is room for me to advance, so is buying stock something I should consider? I would love to help out the company if it does help, but like I said, I know nothing. Any idea what stock might cost?I do apologize if this is too vague, but if you have any questions, answers, advice, or general merrymaking, I would love to know a bit more about whats going on!  <response>: You can basically start buying part of the company. If you manage to get 50 of the shares, you become the boss! More realistically, youre buying portions of whatever happens to the company. This usually has 3 ways of happening. First, the company is bought. A deal is struck that all shares will be bought for X. Since you own shares, you get a piece of the pie. This can be very lucrative for people holding a large portion of shares. Second, the company goes public. Your X private shares get converted into Y public shares and you have the option to sell them. If the company is popular enough, this can be very lucrative for people holding a large portion of shares. Third, the company fails. Assets are sold off and distributed to the creditors. Your shares are now worthless and youre out of a job. 