ESOP · How do we set one up?
Building your ESOP, step by step.
Equity is the strongest tool a startup has to attract and keep great people — but only when the scheme is built right. Here's how an ESOP comes together with OLN beside you.
Interactive — pick a scheme type, open any step, and tick off the self-check below.
Best when — the default for most HK startups; you want to give upside without handing over shares or cash today.
- Set the option pool size and exercise price
- Adopt scheme rules and pass board approval
- Grant option agreements and update the register
Key terms: exercise price · vesting · cliff · exercise window · leaver terms
Best when — you want recipients to hold (or be promised) real shares now, subject to vesting and buy-back if they leave.
- Decide shares vs RSUs, and the vesting shape
- Board and shareholder approvals
- Issue / allot and document buy-back rights
Key terms: vesting · reverse vesting · buy-back · transfer restrictions
Best when — you want to mirror equity upside in cash, without touching the cap table — simplest to run, no dilution.
- Define the phantom unit and trigger events
- Board approval of the plan
- Issue award letters to recipients
Key terms: phantom units · valuation basis · trigger events · payout cap
No surprises on cost — we work on a fixed fee or capped range, confirmed in writing before we start. Just ask for a quote.
Decide how much equity the team should get, model the dilution, and pick the instrument before you promise anything. The best time to bring OLN in.
Set vesting, cliff, exercise price and good-leaver / bad-leaver terms so the scheme behaves the way you intend.
Model how the pool affects founders and investors, and reflect the reserved pool in your cap table.
Draft the master scheme rules that govern every grant — the single source of truth for the plan.
Option agreements, award letters or RSU documents for each recipient, ready to issue.
Board and, where needed, shareholder approvals to adopt the scheme and reserve the pool.
Plain-language summaries so recipients understand the upside — not just the legal terms.
Issue the grants, update the option register and keep statutory records in order.
Handle exercises, leavers, buy-backs and what happens to the pool at an exit.
Set up the scheme
before you promise the equity.
Whichever scheme fits, we design it, document it and keep it clean as your team grows. I quote up front.