CapTable & ESOP 101 | Sydney

About this event

This event is part of Lightbulb to Launch, a two-week-long virtual event series designed to supercharge you in your entrepreneurial journey. Head to the site to see the full schedule!

A startup’s capitalization table (or CapTable) is something any founder would want to get right from day one. While almost everything else related to a startup can be adjusted down the road, the ownership structure, if set up badly, can lead to major problems. In the worst-case scenario, it can dilute key people, diminish their future earnings, and severely impact how attractive your company looks to investors.

To get fully-diluted equity ownership for each shareholder, founders will also need to determine the Employee Stock Options Plan (ESOP), a benefit that gives employees the option of ownership in the company by enabling employees to buy its shares at a discounted price. For many early-stage startups where cash flow is limited and recruiting top talents is the key to growth, ESOPs are a viable alternative to supplement employees’ remuneration packages to attract, motivate, and retain the best talent. As attractive as it sounds, implementing ESOPs is rarely an overnight process, but rather one that requires an in-depth feasibility study.

This session will serve as your one-stop guide to help you learn all about CapTable and ESOP! We’ll discuss how you can set up your CapTable the right way from day 1, understand what ESOPs are all about, uncover the pros and cons of ESOPs from both a business owner and employee perspective, and realize the tax implications of ESOPs.