Employee Stock Option Plans (ESOPs) are one of the best ways for startups to reward their employees and attract new talent to grow their business.
While there are traditional ways to structure ESOPs, Eqvista has innovated how ESOP is distributed.
I sat down with Eqvista founder Tomas Milar for his insights on ESOP distribution in modern-day businesses. We also talk about his new venture, Cheqly, which will change the way neo-banking is for newer startups.
Q: Can you tell us a bit about the inspiration behind Eqvista and what you aim to achieve with the company?
The inspiration for Eqvista came from working with other business founders through my other businesses; Startupr and IncParadise.
These two companies help to manage tens and thousands of companies in Asia and the US, and it is through these two companies that I found how tedious it was to manage administrative work and equity management.
Equity management is traditionally done through Excel spreadsheets, which can cause many discrepancies and errors if done carelessly. This is how I got the idea to create Eqvista-a smart all-in-one equity management platform that allows you to keep track of your cap table and shareholders in an online cloud-based system.
Q: How does Eqvista currently assist its clients with their employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs)?
With Eqvista, our users (who are mostly business owners and entrepreneurs) are provided with many software tools and services to help them manage and administer their ESOPs.
These tools include tracking employee participation and stock purchases, calculating employee ownership percentages, and provisioning reports and analytics on the performance of the ESOP.
Our platform allows users to easily create vesting plans for their ESOPs. If you are new to ESOPs and valuations, we have an expert valuation team that helps you to conduct your 409A valuations and other types of valuations for your business.
Q: What challenges do you see with traditional ESOP distribution methods and how does Eqvista aim to address these issues?
Traditional ESOP distribution methods have several issues with their complexity and communication.
Setting up and administering ESOPs can be complex, especially if they involve vesting schedules, multiple stock classes, and many other factors.
Because of this, it can make it difficult for employees to understand their rights and obligations under the plan, which may require your company to provide extensive support and education.
Another challenge with traditional ESOP distribution methods is effectively communicating the details of an ESOP to employees.
If a plan is too complex or if employees have diverse backgrounds and knowledge levels, communication could lead to confusion and misunderstandings.
This can lead to reducing the effectiveness of the ESOP.
With Eqvista however, we address these challenges by providing tools and services that help companies manage and administer their ESOPs more efficiently and effectively.
As mentioned above, we provide features that help to track, record, and calculate your employees' participation, stock purchases, and ownership percentages.
By automating these tasks in managing ESOPs, we provide easy-to-use tools for employees to help them understand and participate in their plans.
Eqvista has made it easier for companies to set up and maintain ESOPs through our sophisticated platform.
Q: How does Eqvista ensure the security and accuracy of the ESOP distribution process?
To make sure your employees and your company are protected, it is important to make sure that the ESOP distribution process is secure and accurate.
Because of this, Eqvista has implemented measures to ensure that the distribution process is in compliance with relevant laws and regulations.
Some measures we have implemented are secure data storage and transmission, robust authentication and authorization procedures (two-factor authentication), etc.
Our security policy is available online if you wish to learn more.
Q: Well, we heard about your new venture “Cheqly”, could you tell us the services and products offered by Cheqly and how they benefit customers?
Cheqly is a new neobank offering business banking services specifically designed for startups and SMEs.
We understand the challenges that new businesses face, so we wanted to make banking easy for startups by making it readily available to them online.
With Cheqly, you can access your banking needs anytime, anywhere. Our banking services are fundamental for any startup to set up and run their business.
Q: How do you see Eqvista and Cheqly shaping or influencing the industries they operate in, and what impact do you hope they will have on their clients and stakeholders?
Both Eqvista and Cheqly are offering innovative solutions that make managing company equity and finances easier and more convenient.
As an entrepreneur myself, I understand how challenging and frustrating it can be to manage finances, which is why I came up with Eqvista and Cheqly.
Eqvista helps companies streamline their ESOP and cap table management processes, while Cheqly offers a more convenient and flexible alternative to traditional banking services.
We are constantly looking to improve our product by listening to our client’s feedback and providing more services and features based on the needs of our users.
Conclusion
Managing company equity and finances has been made easier thanks to the team behind Eqvista and Cheqly.
Tomas Milar continues to listen to what business founders need to make running a company easier and continues to provide innovative solutions.
With Eqvista and Cheqly, you are guaranteed to efficiently and effectively manage your company without the stress of traditional methods.