You can sell them when the company has a buy back round. Usually happens during a fundraise or an acquisition.

What if the company does not let you exercise it.

Product Manager

Growth And Strategy

You will have a vesting period. Typically between 1-10 years depending on the company in which you still own those shares. 
 If you don't get to take action in that time, it's gone.  
  
 The company is in charge of planning a buy back. Nothing you can do if the board isn't ready for one.

What are the rules for exercising after leaving the company. Can it be exercised after 3 years when the company goes IPO.?

Your vested stock should become public in that case, excercise anytime.  
 There will be SEBI rules against insider trading etc that may not allow you to sell frequently or just after IPO.

Welcome to News Discussion's Private Community

What is the policy for vested esops for employees who have left the company?

What is the policy for vested esops for employees who have left the company?- Grapevine

Welcome to Indian Startups's Private Community

have been seeing a lot of startup’s having multiple CXOs leaving within a short duration of them becoming profitable.

Is this another cost saving measure?

What do CXO exits in a profitable startup mean

Hello guys,
I would want to know what is the benefit of getting ESOPs in an early stage startup?
The startup has a great team and working on a promising product. 
I have been offered a package with somewhat lower fixed component and somewhat higher ESOPs. Need insightful pointers here. TIA :)

Value of ESOPs in early stage startups?

The ESOP is a bit of a blind bet.  
  
 It's paper money that can get you a windfall if all goes to plan and execution, solution, pricing, market readiness amongst other things, all line up over the next few years.  
  
 I wouldn't take a pay cut in lieu of ESOPs.  Keep the real money real and the paper money as an outside bet.

Sales Manager

Welcome to Software Engineers's Private Community

Hi, I have an ESOPs related question. Appreciate any inputs. 

Consider a Series B startup providing an employee with 5000 shares. After 2 years, 2000 shares are vested and exercised by the employee. The stocks were never liquidated because the company didn't conduct buyback nor went IPO. 

Now, assume the company lays off that employee after 2 years,

- Can he still hold the vested and exercised 2000 shares? 
- If yes, then can he sell those stocks during future buyback even if he isn't an employee?
- Will the company provide accelerated vesting for the remaining 3000 shares during layoff? (not mentioned on offer letter)

Question on ESOPs

Analyst

Please share how your company esop policy is. Is it really valuable for employees or just used to create hype and retail talent. 
How many years can you exercise them after resignation?
How did the taxation go if someone has been lucky enough to convert it to cash?
Should esops be a factor while leaving current company or joining a new company?

Are ESOPS really worth it? Has anyone built considerable wealth through it? Share experience.

Software Engineer

Little context, I worked at a startup for 2yrs and got 50% of my esops vested. It's been 6 months now after I left the startup. Now, I am looking forward to buy my options which were bested and further sell it to folks interested.

How should I go about it? Please suggest me how should I go about it. All kind of suggestions are welcome 🙌

How do I sell my equity?

Generalist

I have joined a startup and have some vested esops available with me. My question is when I leave the company, how will I be able to exercise these options since I can access the esop portal using my offical email id only. Sorry if it's a noob question - but I am clueless about this.

ESOP clarification

Software Developer

Welcome to Personal Finance's Private Community

Generally speaking, is ESOPs fully vested in 4 or 5 years? 
I am aware of 4 years vesting period which is common everywhere. However, the startup where I work decided to introduce ESOPs with a cliff period of 1 year (which is standard) and the remaining shares to be vested will be done in the remaining 48 months. That’s five years altogether. Also, there’s a clause that on termination of employment, the shares should be exercised without which they will be revoked. 
The CXOs say that it’s a standard YC template. Am I being lied to? 
Would it be right to say that this is not an employee friendly ESOPs?

ESOPs vested over 4 or 5 years?

So i got the ESOPs in my current company and now they want me to exercise it as it is mandatory to exercise the ESOP in a certain period of time. What will happen once I exercise it?? Also i am thinking of quitting the company so what will happen to the exercised ESOP if I leave the company??

Please give any resources to understand the complete what, how and when of the ESOPs and general summary regarding it

Can anyone please explain to me the ESOP thing??

Frontend Engineer

Welcome to Product Managers's Private Community

I work in a fintech company. Revenue and growth wise we are good, we just got acquired by a large internet platform too. Also, last year has been a tremendous learning for me as well. I like being PM but looking to move out of my current industry (lending) as I want to explore other domains and I feel like my CTC here is somewhat low (18.5 + 1.5 bonus) considering my experience (around 4.5 years). My boss said that I will get ESOPS (around 10 lacs) which I can liquidate around 50% this year. Should I wait for my appraisal to complete (will happen around April) and look to switch or should I start preparing for interviews now itself?

Company is good but CTC pinches

Truths about ESOP 101 

After working in multiple fast growth startup’s and having been part of multiple buybacks as well as being in the startup ecosystem for a decade I want to put to bear my pov about creating wealth through ESOP. 

Like any other randomised event, ESOP also follows Pareto principle which means a very small number of people within the company ever make sizable wealth that they elevate to the top 0.1% of the country. 

The Pareto also applies with companies; significantly small minority of companies in India have employee friendly policies which enables an employee to create wealth. 

Most startup’s have dark patterns within their esop policy which either locks you in for insufferable durations or forces you to pay exorbitant taxes to gain the right to exercise your esops when you are leaving the company. 

Survivorship bias plays a huge role in enabling the narrative that esop is a great wealth generating tool leading to rude awakening for an employee after they join a company. 

This doesn’t mean you can’t make wealth, it just means don’t get carried away by narratives and take preventable errors in your career. 

Always talk to multiple people in startup’s and ask relevant questions to understand esop policies better. 

Like everything else optimising only for esop for wealth creation will mostly not result in it.

Unmasking ESOP wealth!

Consultant

During appraisal cycle I had asked for a hike in Salary after knowing I’m getting peanuts. 

Manager: Have ESOPs we will do buy back in next year and like I have gotten 2-3 ESOPs but no real money hike. 

Is this happening with you all? How do you deal this? Is it time to quit the org?

My best thing about manager

One of my friends who works for a healthcare startup owns 30 shares at a premium of 75k per share. Company's share value went from 10k in last year to 75k this year due to fund raising event. Is it a good idea to vest now or wait for more returns? Further fund raising events ahead next year. What could be the value after 3 -5 yrs.

ESOP Suggestions

Business Analyst

Ever heard about people getting payout for their vested ESOPs when they exit the firm? Does this really happen?

ESOPs

Have been granted esops recently. What are the critical points that I should be mindful of before signing the esop policy (apart from the regular - vesting schedule, exercise price, etc.)? Anything that I should take note of or ask particularly?

Esops - what should I know?

I have worked in a startup which gave me ESOPs. I left the company and they have passed on to me my share of vested ESOPs in zenequity.

Do I need to mention this while filing ITR? Do I need to pay tax on it?

ESOPs in ITR

Hi, Say a Series B (US) funded startup gives me 3000 shares which are worth $5/share. It follows the usual vesting period of 4 years. Now assume 4 years have passed and all the 3000 shares are vested but the company hasn't gone IPO. 

Here are my quesions

- When exercising US stocks in India, what is the % of withholding tax I should pay?
- Say if I exercised all the shares and if I decide to leave the company do I get to keep those exercised shares with me forever?

I prefer answers from people who have exercised ESOPs before. I don't want answers like "It depends, Talk to your HR or CA". Appreciate any inputs.

Question on US based ESOPs in India

Hi, I am an incoming Fresher @ SF. I wanted to know how do ESOPs work. Like in the overall CTC they include them (about 20L worth) but then they say it's vested over four years. Wouldn't the CTC then actually be a quarter of what they include? Like only 5L?

Also after the vesting period, do the companies stop giving ESOPs? Then does our CTC basically become Base salary + Bonuses?

ESOPs! How do they work?

I had gotten a few shares of a company I used to work for. Unfortunately the time period to exercise the contract is just 90 days after I leave so that means either I have to lose all the shares since I didn't complete the whole vesting schedule or buy it from them!

I wanted to understand how the tax works in a case like this! The company is still not traded so I can't sell the shares but have to buy it and hold it until IPO!

What is the policy for vested esops for employees who have left the company?

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