I have a few esops of blockchain.com. while I reside in india , I got some esops in lieu of the work. I am wondering when I will be able to encash those shares. Is it only after Blockchain.com is e...

Welcome to Indian Startups's Private Community

I have a few esops of blockchain.com. while I reside in india , I got some esops in lieu of the work. I am wondering when I will be able to encash those shares. Is it only after Blockchain.com is enlisted after ipo ? Fin expert please guide me on this.

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unlisted shares- Grapevine

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

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

Analyst

Welcome to Personal Finance's Private Community

I have left company i own around equivalent to approx 6k equity shares. Have not excecised yet. 

Any possibility to convert esops to cash

Require some honest understanding regards to esops

Hi folks, 

I'm Kashish, the CEO of EquityList and Founder of Cloud Capital which I run as a solo GP.
A little bit about what we do: 

EquityList is a full-stack equity management platform by AngelList India. Companies across India, US and Singapore use EquityList to manage their cap table, stock options (ESOP/SAR), shareholders, and related compliances. Managing equity for 10k+ stakeholders, 250+ companies and ~$1B in stock options.

Cloud Capital has deployed $8M+ in 55+ startups such as Airmeet, Rupifi, Orange Health, DevRev, ZET (OneCode) and others. I've also angel invested in startups such as OSlash, Atlys, Chronicle, Even Healthcare and others.

Excited to do this AMA, and look forward to answering any of your questions about ESOPs, cap table management, investing, entrepreneurship, and more!

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kashisharma

Live AMA: Hey everyone, I'm Kashish, CEO of EquityList. Ask me anything!

My profile: EX. Founder turned Product+ strategy person
YOE: 5+
ESOPs: 80 lakhs 
Cliff: 1 year
Vesting period: 48 months

I am still thinking after how many years it will be valuable given the liquidity is very rare for ESOPs. Any thoughts?

Are your ESOPs worth it?

Product Owner

Say you have ESOPs in a company. Once the company goes public, is there a holding period applicable for the esop before which it can not be sold?
Like 1 month/3 months/6 months holding periods?

Can someone also explain how the conversion of ESOPs to RSUs happens after IPO?

And mainly, tax implications and how to save tax?

Can someone explain esop selling during/after ipo

Software Engineer

[Need help] I have 3 lakhs of Pine Labs ESOPs each year. Got this news yesterday where Neuberger berman has reduced Pine Labs valuation by 39%. Does this mean when I try to cash out 3 lakh ESOP, the actual value would be 39% lesser?

I recently worked at a startup and it was terrible. 

To be honest, I still worked at one of the better ones but it just sucked. 

Some of the clear downsides I see 

- Survival mode leads to chaos. You can be treated anyway and asked to leave whenever  even though you left big opportunities to be here 
- Brand loss to find next job (Big problem)
- Trying to make you feel unworthy(Doesn't bother me but I have seen people lose self confidence)
- Loss of opportunity to build real skills like building sustainable teams for the long run

I think over all working at a startup especially early teams is a losing proposition. Do it only if -
 - you know the founders/team well 
- you know the industry and market well and it is a bet you personally believe in
- you are secure enough in life that if you go back to your job, you will easily get employed 


For middle class kids, startups are the worst bets one can take.

Working at startups is terrible

Product Designer

I have recently left Tekion and was considering executing my ESOPs. For executing my ESOPs I need to pay around $3.5 per esop to the company. Should I convert my esops to equity? Am looking for some advice from the folks who might have done this in the past.

Tekion ESOPs Execution

Hey 👋  
  
 I have worked with a lot of my clients who own ESOPs. 
  
 Some points to consider in your case: 
 1. Tekion is not a listed company. Finding a buyer for the shares will be difficult. Considering this, Are you comfortable holding the shares till IPO? 
  
 2. Tax: You will need to pay tax at the time of exercising ESOPs. Again, are you comfortable with paying tax upfront?  
  
 3. If you wish to sell shares through brokers, check if company has right of first refusal. This way, you can a good deal and sell the shares to company (prior to IPO).

Software Developer

Product Manager

Welcome to News Discussion's Private Community

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

Hi Guys, what is the “Exercise event” for the ESOPs allotted by Indian startup’s?

Note: Exercise event means when the vested ESOPs can be allotted.

I have come across a couple startup’s which have a very sketchy Exercise event I.e 4 years after vesting of “all the allotted ESOPs”

So I’m trying to figure out how other startup’s are doing it in BLR/Metro cities in India.

ESOP Exercise Query

Be it about investors, co-founders, hires, freelancers, family, or yourself

Founders, what will you never share publicly about your startup?

Welcome to Product Managers's Private Community

Considering applying there - anyone know what it’s like there? Both culture wise and company future wise…

How’s it like to workt at HealthifyMe?

Welcome to Business Roles's Private Community

One of my past companies is expected to go public soon and I'll be receive a bulk of money in esops, what are some of the best practises to be noted to manage the quantum ?

Best practises to manage incoming cash via ESOPs ?

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 Office Gossip's Private Community

One of my friends was working with Unacademy, & contributed well in Business/Revenue - first got into a bad culture and decided to exit. 

Joined another company and got back to back notices from the last org and also a notice on Cancellation of vested ESOPs. Kat gaya bhai ka! 

Stay aware guys :)

Stay away from ESOPs tuchiyapa :)

Some thing good in startup ecosystummm!

https://startupstorymedia.com/insights-cardekho-group-announces-5-million-esop-liquidity-buyback-reports-strong-growth-in-fy23/

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