San Jose State University

Helping employees of private VC backed companies exercise their stock options.

San Mateo, California, United States

The Employee Stock Option fund helps startup current and former employees to cover the expenses associated with exercising stock options and related taxes or to receive liquidity against their shares.

These employee-friendly financing have no principal or interest payment requirements until liquidity is reached.

Through a unique partnering agreement, the Fund provides employees with the cash required to exercise their options and participates in the upside if the stock gains value through a sale or other event. If the stock becomes valueless, the Fund, not the employee, bears the loss. We provide a clear, straightforward, and employee-friendly approach to exercising stock options without financial stress.

The ESO Fund is a game changing financial service. Prospective employees who have been historically reluctant to join startup companies can now afford to join at an earlier stage. Previously, these same employees would only join when the company was so mature that options packages became very small and expensive. With ESO as a fall back, employers can entice highly skilled employees much earlier when the need and opportunity for impact is the highest.

Nairie Krikorian