Grip, a digital platform for new-age investments, has concluded the employees’ stock ownership plan (ESOP) buyback. The startup rolled out the ESOP buyback within just 18 months of its inception in June 2020. The objective was to reward and recognise the valuable contributions of its employees that helped Grip witness tremendous growth, that is, 35 per cent m-o-m. Only employees who had spent at least six months in the Company were eligible for the buyback, wherein they were paid at the current valuation.
Vivek Gulati, co-founder & COO, Grip, reveals that “this ESOP buyback is just one of the many initiatives that Grip wants to empower its employees with”.
The response has been overwhelming, “with the majority of eligible employees opting to stay vested in the company”. Gulati goes on to say, “As we accelerate, we will continue to invest heavily in promising talent across product, business and technology and create a tech-driven workplace that fosters innovation and transparency.”
Grip’s employee-friendly ESOP policy offers a 10 years exercise period for its existing and former employees. The purchase price of the ESOP is kept at the minimum of Rs 10 per ESOP. Further, it leverages tech platforms to structure and allocate ESOPs to its employees, giving them real-time visibility of the shares. The Company plans to execute more buyback rounds in the upcoming future, to continue to empower employees and their commitment to Grip.
Gulati wishes for Grip “to be a people-first organisation with a strong purpose-driven culture”. He feels, “employees joining early stage ventures need to be rewarded disproportionately for the role they play in building companies and enabling hyper-growth.”
Recently, Grip offered its users a chance to become shareholders in the Company through a user-led equity funding round. The funding round, which it initiated on strong demand from its users, saw Grip secure $1Mn.
Grip is building a new category of investment options for the new-age Indians. In the past 19 months, Grip has built a community of 175,000+ investors, has facilitated the leasing of assets worth 170+ crores, enabling 70+ companies such as Udaan, Furlenco, Holisol, Loadshare, ChargeZone, etc., to access a different channel of growth capital.
