This repo shares template copies of the doocuments we used to setup our employee stock option scheme. I cannot vouch for their fitness for other people to use. Any use is at your own risk.
The files in this pack are:
- A slide presentation explaining about share options -- the file presentation/index.html, which you can view online here. This was sent to our employees.
- The company articles. The relevant articles are those allowing the share-holders to create share-pools where pre-emption does not apply, and the tag-along and drag-along articles.
- A shareholder resolution creating an employee share pool.
- A board motion authorising the use of that share pool.
- A template options contract, as sent to employees.
These files were .doc at one point, but being a tech company we put everything into tech-friendly text formats: .md is Markdown, which is almost plain-text, and the slides use the excellent Reveal.js system.
Hidden in the legal bumpf there are some decisions we made:
- What vesting period? We used annual cliffs, but some people use a 1-year cliff then linear after that.
- When can people exercise their shares? We said after vesting, but some schemes say only at an exit.
- Can the company buy-back options from leavers? We said no.
- What happens to unvested options on an exit? We opted for a hybrid accelerated vesting, wanting to reward people for getting to a successful exit, but also incentivise them to stick around so the acquirer isn't left with a ghost ship.