SAN FRANCISCO -- The nightly routine of young paper millionaires crowding San Francisco nightclubs may be long gone, but stock options remain a vital way of life in entrepreneurial Silicon Valley. Even as Microsoft Corp. abandons the practice, many technology startups need the allure of stock options to attract talented workers who otherwise might opt for more established companies. "People who go to stock options are the visionaries who see the potential in the company, are excited about the future and have a little gamble in them," said Sy Richardson, chief executive of the Internet-based telephone company Five Star Telecom.
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