SBI General Insurance Company Limited commenced its operations in the year 2010 and is a 74: 26 joint venture between State Bank of India and Insurance Australia Group (IAG). The company offers a wide range of general insurance products in retail and commercial space at affordable prices to make insurance accessible to all individuals and businesses.

Urban Clap is a mobile marketplace for local services, helping customers to hire trusted professionals for all their service needs. They provide housekeeping services which consist of plumbers, electricians, carpenters, cleaning and pest control and personal services like beauty, spa, mobile and other appliance repairs etc

Urban Ladder is a design-led, omnichannel brand which offers furniture and home decor. With over 5000 designs across 35 categories such as living, dining, bedroom, study, and decor, Urban Ladder was established as an online-first brand in 2012. In 2017, Urban Ladder made a shift to offline retail, to become an omnichannel brand.

Snapdeal.com is an e-commerce company and features products across categories like mobiles, electronics, fashion accessories, apparel, footwear, kids, home and kitchen, sports, books; and services like restaurants, spas & entertainment amongst others.

Founded in 2014, Swiggy is India’s largest food delivery platform with over 70,000 restaurant partners spread across 29 cities. Using innovative technology, the platform provides a hassle-free, fast and reliable delivery experience.

Thyrocare Technologies Limited is India’s first and most advanced Totally Automated Laboratory having its strong presence in more than 2000 cities / towns in India and internationally. Thyrocare is India’s first fully automated diagnostic laboratory with a focus on providing quality at affordable costs to laboratories and hospitals in India and other countries.

Ratnakar Bank is Kolhapur-based bank which has presence in Mumbai to Northern Karnataka corridor.

“Orra – The Diamond Destination” is diamond centric jewellery retail chain.

Fortis Healthcare Limited is an integrated healthcare delivery provider in the Pan Asia-Pacific region. The healthcare verticals of the company span diagnostics, primary care, day care speciality and hospitals.

NIIT Technologies is an IT solutions provider which offers comprehensive end-to-end software solutions and services in application development and management, managed services, cloud computing and business process outsourcing to organizations in the banking & financial services, insurance, travel & transportation, manufacturing & distribution, and government sectors.

Viacom 18 is a 50/50 joint venture operation in India between Viacom Inc and the Network18 Group. It operates six general entertainment channels – MTV, Nickelodeon, Vh1, COLORS, SONIC, Comedy Central and film business through Viacom18 Motion Pictures, that produces, acquires and distributes Hindi films. 

Dish TV India Limited is India’s largest direct-to-home (DTH) Company with a subscriber base of more than 23 million. The Company is part of the Essel Group. Dish TV India Limited owns multiple individual brands like Dish TV, Zing and d2h under its umbrella.

Kirloskar Industries Limited, a Kirloskar Group company, is in the business of Windmill Generation and Investments (Securities and Properties).

Prince Pipes and Fittings Ltd is a leading manufacturer of plumbing, sewage, agriculture and borewell piping systems in India. With the use of Zero Defect Manufacturing Process, they create extremely efficient piping systems.

Arvind Limited (formerly Arvind Mills) is a textile manufacturer and the flagship company of the Lalbhai Group. Its headquarters is in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. It is India’s largest denim manufacturer apart from being the world’s fourth-largest producer and exporter of denim.

Skeiron is an independent power producer and a leading renewable power developer in India. It was launched in 2015 with a vision of providing clean energy using the latest technology and innovations, which contributes significantly towards India’s 175 GW renewable energy target by 2022.

The Institute of Computer Accountants (ICA) is India’s largest vocational training company in the field of Accounts, Taxation, Finance, and Computer Applications. They have a network of training centres spread across more than 100 cities.

Hansa Cequity is a data & technology driven marketing consulting firm. With a data-driven marketing thinking and strategy, they help companies build intelligent, intuitive and real-time customer relationships.

Narnolia Securities is a collaborative financial service and investment management company and provides services such as equity & commodities broking, depository, merchant banking, portfolio management, research analysis, investment advisory, insurance broking, etc.

Crimson Interactive are English language service providers catering to the STM industry. They offer English editing, translation, and transcription services to researchers, corporates, and pharmaceutical companies worldwide. Their goal is to assist aspiring researchers fulfill their dreams of successfully publishing in top-notch scientific journals.

CFOSME provides shared CFO services to Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) that do not need or cannot afford full time CFO to fulfill this function or where the existing CFO may not have a particular expertise or bandwidth in a certain area. The goal is to provide all of the Strategic, Financial, Accounting and Compliance expertise that any business needs at a fraction of the cost of a full-time employee.

INDUSLAW is an Indian law firm advising clients worldwide on Indian law, in relation to their transactional goals, business strategies and resolution of disputes. Founded in 2000, they have offices in Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad.

Exotel is one of India’s largest cloud telephony companies. Its aim is to help businesses, both large and small, manage their business phone system via a virtual phone system.

Cybrilla Technologies is a global software development firm with expertise in agile product development & consulting. They have developed mission-critical software for startups and established businesses alike.

Established in 2002, Eastman Auto & Power limited (EAPL) is the leading manufacturer, supplier and exporter of all kinds of energy storage solutions and solar solutions with manufacturing and research units in India. It is part of the Eastman Group.

TeamLease Services established in 2002, is one of India’s leading human resource service companies in the organized segment. It is a one-stop provider of human resources services to various industries and diverse functional roles, offering staffing, payroll processing, recruitment, compliance and training services.

Shree Shubham Logistics Limited, a Kalpataru Group Company, is one of the biggest private sector warehousing service provider company having owned state of the art warehousing (dry and cold) infrastructure with bouquet of services catering to the non-agri and agri-sector.

Olive Bar and Kitchen is a fine dining restaurant operator, which owns the Olive, Monkey Bar, LAP, Ai and Soul Fry brands.

Jindal Stainless was established in 1970 and is the flagship company of the OP Jindal group. It is India’s largest and the only fully integrated stainless steel manufacturer.

INOX India, a part of INOX group of companies, offers comprehensive solutions in cryogenic storage, vaporization and distribution engineering.

Ind-Barath Power Infra is a power infrastructure development company with main focus on establishment of power projects of different capacities and utilizing different fuels spread over the country.

Techsignia is a software company which provides IT products, solutions and services – software, hardware and infrastructure, applications implementation / development / upkeep / maintenance & administration. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mannai Corporation, a conglomerate headquartered in Doha, Qatar having its business activities spanning across automobiles, engineering services, facilities management, travel services and information communication & technology.

Orbis operates as a Custodian in the financial markets and is a Clearing Member on BSE, NSE and MCX-SX in the Equities, Debt, F&O and Currency Derivatives segments and a Depository Participant on NSDL & CDSL.

Established in 2006, Destimoney is a full service financial organization offering Equities, Currency & Commodities Trading Services, Advisory Services, Wealth Management, Research, etc.

VISA Steel is a steel manufacturing company and is based in Kolkata. It is a part of VISA Group, a minerals, metals and energy conglomerate with business interests in steel, power, cement, international trading and urban infrastructure etc.

Carzonrent, launched in the year 2000, is a personal ground transportation service provider offering a complete bouquet of end-to-end long and short term car rental solutions across the country.

Flexituff is world’s largest clean room FIBC manufacturer. It also manufactures geo-textile fabric and ground cover, reverse printed bopp woven bags, special pp bags including leno bags.

YOU Telecom offers high speed Internet, through cable modem platform to residential, SME and corporate customers and also offers Digital Cable services through its affiliates.

Headquartered in Kolkata, India, Tega Industries is a global provider of consumables for use in the mineral beneficiation, mining and bulk solids handling industries. The company offers a range of rubber, polyurethane and ceramic based lining products, as well as value-added consultancy services and solutions tailored to specific customer needs.

IFCI Factors, a subsidiary of IFCI Limited, is a financial services company providing factoring solutions across various industries. Its primary business is to provide domestic sales bill factoring, supported by business of other factoring products and allied financing services such as the short term corporate loans.

Indian Terrain is a mens-wear brand in the premium segment.

emids is an industry leader in the ‘convergence’ of IT and consulting for the healthcare industry. It provides diversified information technology (IT) and business process outsourcing (BPO) services. Its healthcare solutions span across various healthcare stakeholders, their systems, and applications. Stakeholders include payers, providers, healthcare ISVs, revenue cycle management companies, health information exchanges, third party administrators, and clearinghouses.

Tara Jewels has been in jewellery manufacturing business since 2001 and has a retail arm by the name of “Tara Jewellers”. Their range includes fashion, bridal and handmade bespoke jewellery.

Prime Focus Technologies is part of Prime Focus, a global visual entertainment services company. Prime Focus Technologies provides unified multi-platform content operations solutions to organizations that deal with content. It works with major content owners across the broadcast, film, sport, advertising and brand sectors.

Guardian is a retail chain of health and wellness stores, present in North, East and West India. The store formats of the company are high street, mall, neighborhood, hospital, shop-in-shop and franchisee.

Famy Care was incorporated in India in 1990. It is a global player in the Female Health Care Segment with a focus on Hormonal & Reproductive Health Care Products.

Launched in 2006, Via is an online travel company with presence in India and globally.

Asian Oilfield is engaged in providing geophysical, drilling and well services to customers across the Indian sub-continent. The portfolio of services include 2D and 3D seismic data acquisition, processing and interpretation, topographic survey, continuous core drilling for mineral and CBM exploration, wire-line logging and directional core drilling to target shallow horizons.

HummingBird is a business stay company offering a range of stay solutions in multiple locations at affordable prices.

Punj Lloyd provides integrated design, engineering, procurement, construction and project management services in the energy and infrastructure sectors.

Cinemacraft provides cloud based Interactive media distribution platform that enables content owners to stream interactive media across a multitude of mobile devices and networks. Its vision is to enable every Mobile device to be transformed into a television.

Value Edge is a business research and analytics firm that specialize in providing customized research, intelligence and analytics reports and databases across chosen domains – pharmaceutical, biotech and medical devices.

BS TransComm, the flagship enterprise of the BS Group, is an infrastructure provider in power transmission & telecom infrastructure. It provides end-to-end turnkey services to power companies and telecom infrastructure companies.

Wanbury is a pharmaceutical company having a presence in API global market and domestic branded Formulation.

Estee Advisors is a quant based investment management company focused on development of alternative investment products using a well defined analytical process. 

GETIT is a directional media company, connecting buyers and sellers through information products and services – including yellow pages, white pages directories, classified media, tele-information services, online and mobile media.

KPT manufactures electric power tools, spares, control motors and blowers. KPT products are used in – bus body building, rail coaches, ship yards, fabrication work, pipe laying for refineries, etc.

SMC Capitals is the investment banking arm of the SMC group and is a SEBI registered Merchant Banker and offer services covering public issues management, capital restructuring, private equity, private treaties, debt syndication, mergers & acquisitions advisory, corporate advisory.

Endeavor is an Ahmedabad-based company operating a chain of test preparation centers to train students for management entrance and other aptitude-based entrance exams. Its key course offerings include preparation for CAT, GRE and GMAT exams.

Fermenta is a subsidiary of DIL Limited, a pharmaceutical company founded in 1951. Fermenta is focused on biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and environmental solutions. It is one of the only manufacturers of Vitamin D3 in India and was also the pioneer of Penicillin G Acylase enzyme biocatalyst. It also provides customised environmental biotech solutions through consultancy, supply of suitable biotech products and services.

INTELLISYS is a global research and development company in the field of videoconferencing, technology enabled collaboration and unified communication space. 

Minda Corporation is a diversified company with a product portfolio encompassing mechanical & electronic security system, door system, electronic controllers for electric vehicles, plastic interiors and for auto OEM’s across the globe.

Medi Assist is a Third Party Administrator licensed by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority providing services to the insurance companies, customers and healthcare providers.

NetAmbit is a financial services distribution company. It has several strong distribution channels retailing a range of different products.

Flemingo, a part of the FLEMINGO group, is a global company operating duty free shops in the Asian and African subcontinent. It operates at international airports and seaports offering a wide range of products in the liquor & spirits, tobacco, confectionery, jewellery and electronics category. 

20Cube Logistics is a freight management company offering services such as international freight forwarding, supply chain, inventory analysis, value added services, government incentive schemes, indirect taxation, customs clearance, customs law and compliance risk management.

Leapstart offers a complete sport and fitness program for children from Kindergarten to Grade 12. 

CRMIT provides On Demand CRM solutions using Cloud Computing business model and has operations in APAC, Australia, EMEA, Europe, US and Japan.

Qyuki is social media platform founded by two of the most celebrated creative minds of India – Shekhar Kapur and A.R. Rahman. Qyuki allows co-creation of creative content, e.g. – lyrics could be posted by one user, another could score the music and a third could be a publisher who packages it and takes it to market.

HeadHonchos is an initiative of ABC Consultants, the pioneer of organised recruitment services in India. HeadHonchos is a career management portal, exclusively for senior management professionals. 

FreeCharge.in is an online provider of prepaid recharge services for mobile, DTH and data cards. It enables the user to recharge his/her mobile phone and make it free and for every recharge, it provides discount coupons of top Indian food joints and retailers, equilavent to the recharge amount. 

Codezeven is a global technology and business consulting firm providing SharePoint solutions that help companies connect people, process and information.

Frontline Consulting Services, a TEK Systems Global Services Division designs, develops, markets and supports enterprise applications and solutions to meet the requirements of businesses.

inTarvo (formerly known as RT Outsourcing Services Limited) is a provider of Integrated Lifecycle Management (ILM) support services for technology products for Original Equipment Manufacturers, EMS companies, distributors, large corporation and retail chains.

Sterlite Technologies is a global provider of transmission solutions for the power and telecom industries. It manufactures and sells optical fibers, telecommunication cables, and power transmission conductors.

Founded by the Valuable Group in 2005, UFO Moviez is a satellite networked digital cinema chain. It offers end to end digital cinema solutions and delivering films via satellite directly to theatres.

Interactive Avenues is a full service digital marketing company with offices in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore with a comprehensive bouquet of services ranging from media, creative to search analytics and mobile. 

Avesthagen focuses on the convergence between food, pharma and population genetics leading to predictive preventive personalised healthcare.

NSL is a hybrid seed company which develops, produces, and markets hybrid and varietal seed products. It is the flagship company of the NSL Group which has interests in power, textiles, retailing, sugar and infrastructure.

MedPlus is a pharmacy chain launched in 2006. The company has also launched state-of-the-art diagnostic lab services clinic services.

S. Chand is a publishing company publishing quality books and meeting the needs right from primary level books to higher academic books in Engineering, Management, Commerce, Basic Sciences. 

RPG Life Sciences, a part of the RPG Enterprises, is an integrated pharmaceutical company operating in the domestic and international markets in the branded formulations, global generics, synthetic and fermentation APIs space.

We had worked with the Just Esops team in mid 2015 when we were putting our ESOP policy in place and operationalising the scheme. The team comes in with a great market intelligence and were on point in understanding the needs of the organisation and helped us tailor a scheme to suit our needs very quickly with no compromise on quality.

We’ve had the opportunity to work with the most renowned ESOP consultancy firm JUSTESOPs. They are perfectly professional and too quick in understanding our ESOP need and have provided honest, competent and thorough advice to us for setting up the best and perfect ESOP plan for our Company. Special thanks to Garima Sharma for completion of our ESOP assignment in a very limited period of time

Once we engaged with Just Esops, they immediately started their work. They quickly understood our organization structure, future plans and incorporated all the intricacies into the esop scheme seamlessly. Garima has patiently gone through multiple iterations with us and was a great support throughout the process.

We had a very thorough and professional experience working with Just Esops when we had engaged them for the introduction and implementation of the ESOPs scheme at Narnolia. They effectively handheld us through all the stages of conceptualization, documentation, communication and statutory compliance. They are well experienced and well versed with their subject and had answers to practically all our queries and a solution for all situations, at the same time they are very cognizant of the statutory compliance and asserted strongly wherever necessary. The result was a very balanced and 100% compliant ESOPS scheme covering all our requirements. Garima Sharma was leading the assignment from Just Esops side and we found her all competent, knowledgeable and professional in the entire process of implementing.

We have utilised the services of Just Esops for many of our group companies under Arvind Group and they are extremely good at what they do. Ms. Garima completely understood our requirements and objectives for each of our companies and provided correct solutions. Just Esops took care of all aspects relating to ESOP ranging from understanding objectives, structuring scheme, drafting legal documents to accounting, valuations and disclosures.

Just Esops team has been instrumental in conceptualizing and deploying the ESOP programme at Exotel. Their guidance was useful in coming up with an effective yet compliant plan.

Justesop was unbelievably helpful to me when we decided to launch ESOP. They offered a comprehensive insight to the entire ESOP process with all latest regulations. The level of professionalism and personal service was amazing! I felt each time that I was the only client they had. I want to thank you so much Garima for your time & advise to conclude our project on time.

JE came highly recommended to us from one of the pioneers in Indian venture capital. We first used them in a flagship investment and found that Tarun and team not only dot their i and cross their t in this work to perfection but that Tarun himself is an excellent advisor and partner to the board and senior management.

As a growing organisation we needed someone who brought domain expertise and a high-touch engagement with us. We have now had a long association with Just Esops and what sets them apart is that they bring a personal engagement from start to finish. You see the same set of people who came to pitch and those who finally deliver.

We have known and worked with the management team of Just Esops for several years now. They helped us formulate the first ESOP scheme for the Inox Group. They are an extremely competent and professional set of people, who not only conceive but also operationalize a successful ESOP plan to meet with the objectives of the company and the aspirations of the beneficiaries of the ESOP. Their in-depth knowledge of the regulatory framework and industry practices helps in devising and implementing a successful ESOP scheme.

Tarun is very passionate about ESOPS as a way to align the interest of shareholders and employees. His encyclopedic knowledge and expertise in this area makes him an ideal partner to design and develop appropriate ESOP framework in a consultative manner. Just Esops provided the complete package from the scheme, board resolution to communication package to employees.

We wanted our esop project done in flat one month. They did it. With no compromise on personal attention and quality.

They very quickly understood the Esop needs of our organisation and developed an excellent plan for us.

Our portfolio companies have been happy with the way they appropriately tailor-make the Esop Scheme to suit their individual requirements. They are responsive and good at managing the expectations of all stakeholders.

Just Esops has been extraordinary in providing professional and knowledgeable solutions for many our startups employee incentive programs. Tarun has been an invaluable partner to the founders with his sensitive approach towards balancing employee and company benefits.

I value the continued support from Tarun in assisting companies design ESOP Schemes to suit their specific requirements. He has been able to bridge the knowledge gap with his understanding of the subject and effective communication skills.

Tarun is an exceptional professional and understands the complex nature of organisations and the short and long term impacts of implementing ESOP Schemes. He is creative at structuring these Schemes and effective in communicating its benefits to the employee and employer alike. I have worked on multiple assignments with him and have always found him extremely responsive to the clients’ needs.

Working with Just Esops is a different experience. Apart from their deep-rooted experience in stock options, they also bring the warmth of a friend to the table. He is very committed to the work he does.

We found Tarun’s experience and knowledge in the area of stock-based compensation to be quite valuable. He presents various perspectives during the detailed interactive process which help you take the right decision that is best both for the company and its people. Most importantly, he works like a friend and not a ‘consultant’.

Over the years, Tarun has brought tremendous insight and experience in helping us develop and implement ESOP Schemes across various RPG Groups. He is very responsive in dealing with our numerous queries. We have found his support invaluable.

I came in contact with Tarun Gulati when we were contemplating to design an ESOP Scheme for Jindal Stainless in the year 2007. I think Tarun is a ready reckoner on ESOP. Owing to his experience with a number of large and medium-size corporates in designing ESOP Schemes, he brings up the finer aspects of this motivational instrument in a very meaningful way. Besides technical aspects of ESOP design, he also advises on the behavioural impact of such motivational instruments. Tarun is a persuasive communicator and an interesting person to work with.

It has been a truly great experience working with you and your Team. The Complexities of a ESOP are large touching not across merely statutory, regulatory & tax issues but areas such as performance, commitment, alignment of company and individual interest. Just Esops understanding of these complexities and comprehensive approach has allowed to evolve an extremely well balanced ESOP plan which aligns the interest of employees, the company and the shareholders. I must also congratulate you and your team for having spent time to build consensus across all stake holders with huge amount of patience and commitment !!

On behalf of S.Chand Group, I want to acknowledge the thoroughly professional approach taken by you and your company in helping us implement the ESOP scheme at our company. It was indeed a pleasure to work with you and we are happy that we engaged you over others. We could see how passionate you are about your work and you explained us all the nuances and made everything look relatively simple. We were very confused about everything till you came on board and gave us the run down. Keep up the good work.

There are many legal or CA firms that are capable of preparing ESOP plans. However when HummingBird Travel & Stay Pvt Ltd decided to introduce employee stock option plan we chose to go to a firm whose core focus is just ESOPs. Just ESOP team helped us work out a practical and easy to implement plan. I would recommend JUST ESOP to any organization that wishes to plan and execute their ESOP plan.

I found Tarun to be very knowledgeable on ESOP design and implementation aspects and was able to tailor the scheme to our requirements. Just Esops team’s turnaround time was very good and helped us implement the ESOP scheme very quickly.

When Tega in early 2011 decided to grant ESOPs to its employees we approached Just Esops to help us to formulate and design the Scheme which we would offer to our employees. Just Esops not only supported us in conceptualizing the Scheme in line with our corporate objectives and vision but hand held us through the entire process of implementing the Scheme right from explaining the Scheme to our employees to helping us with the regulatory and accounting issues. Just Esops has truly partnered us in our ESOP Scheme and has done commendable work of balancing the organisational ethos with the emotional quotient and expectations of the individual.

We have engaged Just Esops to design our ESOP. Our experience with Just Esops is simply superb and Tarun is a thorough professional. I strongly recommend Tarun and Just Esops.

We had a fantastic experience with “Just Esops” who guided us through the entire process of structuring and creating our ESOP scheme in our early days. One needs a professional who has enough experience to be able to create a scheme keeping in mind a company’s objective and line of business and in Tarun we got exactly that.

“Tarun and Just Esops are very passionate about ESOPs. Tarun believes in using ESOPs as a tool to incentivize and align the organization but his thinking goes far deeper into the context, the people and their personalities, individual motivators and the communication aspects. He is able to become a true partner in delivering a strong, well thought out ESOP plan. I highly recommend Tarun and his team”.

Tarun advised us on the complete design of our ESOP Scheme. We interacted extensively with him during this period and his knowledge and expertise on the subject was very useful, especially considering that the challenges are higher for an unlisted company.

I have known Tarun since 2005. He was instrumental in suggesting a landmark ESOP Scheme for Dabur Pharma Limited which helped the company align the people cost with strategy and performance. Tarun is well versed with the contemporary compensation management issues and is excellent in relationship building.

I had the pleasure of working with Tarun in formulating the ESOP Scheme for Air Deccan. He exhibited excellent skills in dealing with complexities attached to airline personnel. Tarun is also a likeable person.

Tarun has excellent knowledge and experience on ESOP related matters. He has helped us in implementing ESOP successfully at JMC and also helped us initiating ESOP team for Kalpataru. His enthusiasm and positive approach has supported his subject knowledge to help him become a very successful professional. I, on behalf of my organization, wish him all the very best in his new endeavour and would love to be associated with him personally and professionally.

Tarun Gulati partnered very closely with us in Bajaj Electricals in understanding the requirements in formulating an ESOP strategy, detailing out the ESOP plans, presenting it to our Board of Directors and helping us in executing it effectively. He brings a rich experience in the ESOP area coupled with excellent communication and persuasion skills.

It was a pleasure dealing with you on the ESOP Schemes for our company and our subsidiary, and I value the professional advice you gave us in structuring the schemes appropriately keeping in mind our specific requirements. On a personal note, it was a pleasure to deal with you, since you were so quick to respond with practical suggestions whenever we got stuck or confused (which happened very often!)

His knowledge of the subject and his openness to hear and discuss our ideas makes me recommend him. Working with Tarun starts with a smile and a handshake and does not end after the task is done. He is always available to help out when needed.

Tarun is a thorough professional with clarity of thought, ability to influence through logic, understanding of business and excellent knowledge of strategic imperatives of leadership compensation. In our interactions, he came across as one man army to deliver our requirements.

When it comes to advice on ESOP, the first person who comes to my mind is Tarun Gulati. Tarun, with his thorough understanding of the subject, can offer custom-made solutions on ESOP. A proactive approach to issues, quick response time and innovative solutions are some of the qualities that make Tarun a true professional.

Our interaction with Tarun was extremely professional. As a consultant he helped us focus on the needs of the company as well as needs of the employees. His individual image and work commitment was excellent and we will always prefer to use him again in our future ESOP related assignments. As an energetic and cheerful person it was fun working with Tarun during this engagement.

“You would have to keep track of the company regularly and make decisions accordingly. For instance, say the promoters are pledging shares or cashing out, should you then stay invested in the stock?”

“A growing number of unlisted companies today are offering stock options to their employees. The reasons are many and quite compelling. Stock options have become a very important element of the compensation packages of senior management. An attractive stock option package is almost a requirement today if you want to attract the right kind of talent who have the capability to take your company to the next level. Not only that, even promoters are becoming more progressive and the message they send out to their people is if you can create wealth, we will be very happy to share it with you.

For employees, apart from an opportunity to create wealth for themselves, ESOPs can also sometimes create a sense of entrepreneurship where they feel they are now a part of creating something they can at least call partly their own, a feeling generally missing when they work for very large organisations.”

“Every employer provides two-three years on average for an employee to exercise the Esop at a pre-determined price. This is the best part: there is no downward risk in Esops. If the employee feels the price is not right, it’s better not to exercise the option.”

“With the stock market on the rise, many companies’ Esops that were looking not so attractive a few months ago have become quite lucrative now. This is the right time for Esop Holders to encash value and many people have done that.

Many promoters including those of well-established companies, understand that times and people’s expectations have changed. Senior people now want to ‘partner in growth’ and not ‘work for you’. Esops give a sense of working for one’s own wealth, which automatically means enhanced wealth creation for investors. So, it is a win-win situation.”

“The way cashless can work here is that the employee takes a short-term loan, exercises the options, sells the shares in the market and repay the loan. Instead of taking a loan for the entire set of exercisable options, (s)he can take a loan for a lesser number of options, exercise them, sell them in the market and use this sale proceeds to exercise the balance options.

The risk to the employee is the possibility of the price falling in the market after the exercise of options and before the sale. But since these two activities are generally simultaneous, the risk is minimal.”

“There is no rule for pricing of an ESOP. However, if it is priced at a discount to the market price, then there are accounting implications and the company has to write it down as expenditure in the P&L Account.”

“Over the past few years, stock options have become a very significant portion of a top executive’s compensation. In certain cases, it may even go upto two to three times his annual cost to company.

This is quite logical since people at the top are in a position to take strategic decisions, so their compensation should be significantly linked to the overall value creation.”

“Today, the level of confidence amongst employees that their ESOPs will be profitable is very high.

Unlisted companies have once again started looking at granting options since a lot of them are coming out of an uncertain scenario.”

“In most instances, ESOPs are granted in addition to the existing market determined cash compensation, coupled with a sink-or-swim-together philosophy. The message here is – if markets do well, we all make money. If they don’t do well, ESOP holders lose the potential profit, while the investors actually lose their real wealth.

Therefore, in certain circumstances, repricing may not necessarily go down well with the shareholders. They may take a view that ESOPs should make money only if the other shareholders have also created wealth for themselves.

They can use it as a corrective mechanism at times. However, if repricing is done during regular market swings, it may also send out a your-esop-profits-are-guaranteed kind of a signal.”

“Sometimes, repricing may be required if the management feels that the options were granted at a time when the valuation was unrealistically high, in which case it is more of a correction exercise.

If done during usual market dips, it may signal insecurity and lack of confidence in the future growth trajectory on the part of the management, which can send out wrong signals to their people.

It can also create wrong future expectations in the minds of the employees that the company will continue to do so whenever the prices are not favourable. This defeats the very purpose of a stock option, which is intended to reward only if the market valuations are rewarding, and is not generally meant to be guaranteed profit.”

“For a company that is confident of its growth but is going through a depressed stock price due to a market downturn, a low market presents a fantastic opportunity to grant Esops at an attractive price to the employees.”

“Mind boggling increments may have become the norm in the industry, but aren’t sustainable in the long run. But at the same time, the compensation package should not be ESOP-heavy at the cost of fixed compensation.

Today many VCs insist on an ESOP clause before investing in a fledgling venture, and this adds to the confidence of the investor in the entrepreneur’s commitment and ability.”

“India, Inc. has begun to experiment with performance-linked plans”

“Owners are willing to share value creation with their people. They acknowledge the fact that value will be created by their people and if you distribute, say, 5% equity among these people, you link their personal wealth directly to the company wealth. While they increase the value of their 5%, they also simultaneously increase the value of the remaining 95%, thus creating shareholder wealth. It becomes a win-win situation for both parties.”

“The current rise of ESOPs is not a superficial knee-jerk reaction. Promoters believe that a company’s value is created by employees and should therefore be shared with them.”

“Stipulating a minimum number of years of service before one becomes eligible for stock options may not be good in sunrise sectors. This is because the industry itself might be young and those joining may feel they can drive the growth at an early stage so that they are a part of the wealth creation process.”

“At times, discounted stock grants are used to compensate executives for underwater stock options which were offered at the ruling market price at the time of grant.”

“ESOPs are being recognized as an integral part of senior executive compensation in the industry. It is increasingly becoming a component of compensation which is negotiated by executives, particularly senior people, during the hiring stage. Conventional companies may find themselves to be at a tremendous disadvantage when it comes to hiring the best talent, if they do not offer stock options as a part of their compensation.”

“Have you ever heard of kids changing their parents because they get better perks from a neighbour’s dad? Apart from monetary benefits, there is a strong need to create a true relationship with the people, where they feel respected. When the going is good, stock prices are booming and option holders are making money, can you say for sure that people stayed because of the organization culture? The truth emerges when the business is going through a temporary bad patch.”

“In an unlisted scenario, an extremely important, but at times ignored, factor is communication of value to the employees on a continuous basis. If we want them to feel like owners, they should know where the company is heading and should understand the value being created, which in a listed scenario is visible by looking at the stock price.”

“The exit route for an unlisted company can either be an IPO, strategic sale or a buy back by the company/existing investors. Since in India stock options are almost always granted in addition to the existing cash compensation, most companies do not offer a buy-back guarantee to the employees.

Generally a company targets listing on achievement of a certain amount of growth. Only if that target is achieved, everyone including existing investors get an opportunity to exit, otherwise not. If the company is unable to go public because, say, the growth did not materialise as expected, then it can be devastating if it has to shell out cash to buy shares back from the employees.”

“The instrument has entered a maturity phase, and companies have realized its long-term implications”