Trading places

FOR tech startups, paying employees with shares makes sense. Young companies can reduce their bills and so preserve their capital; workers receive a payout which, although deferred and uncertain, is potentially far more valuable than their salary. But there is a hitch: tech firms are taking much longer to list. Their average age at initial public offering (IPO) has risen from four years during the dotcom bubble in 1999-2000 in America to 11 today. That leaves many workers pining for a payday. Inevitably, another bunch of tech startups is trying to develop a solution.