Explaining investment terms: Employee share option plan
An employee share option plan (ESOP) is a plan that reserves and allocates a percentage of the shares of the company for share option grants to current and future employees of the company (and certain other individuals) at the discretion of a management committee. The intention is to provide an incentive for the employees by allowing them to share in the financial rewards resulting from the success of the company. Investors typically want 10%-20% of the share capital of the company to be reserved in an ESOP creating an option pool. The company will then be able to issue the shares under the plan without requiring further approval from the investors. Founders and other management with significant shareholdings may be excluded from participating in the ESOP.
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