Carta Collective

Hi, Carta Community! I'm Valentin (you can call me Val) and I'm the CEO and Co-founder of Easop. Easop does one thing really well - we make it easy to issue and approve compliant stock option grants to international employees. When you want to issue an options grant to your employee in, say, Poland, you can use Easop to generate documentation compliant with Polish law faster and at lower cost than ever before.

And as part of that, we've had to learn an enormous amount about equity not just in the US, but in 70+ countries across the world.

I'm excited to kick off this Ask Me Anything event, and I'd like to welcome you to ask me all your questions about Easop, international equity, compliance, and beyond, and I'll do my best to answer. Let's do it!

------------------------------
Valentin Haarscher
------------------------------

Hey Val! How do you handle equity questions when an employee is terminated? Does that change if they're based outside of the US? 

Hi, Carta Community! I'm Valentin (you can call me Val) and I'm the CEO and Co-founder of Easop. Easop does one thing really well - we make it easy to issue and approve compliant stock option grants to international employees. When you want to issue an options grant to your employee in, say, Poland, you can use Easop to generate documentation compliant with Polish law faster and at lower cost than ever before.

And as part of that, we've had to learn an enormous amount about equity not just in the US, but in 70+ countries across the world.

I'm excited to kick off this Ask Me Anything event, and I'd like to welcome you to ask me all your questions about Easop, international equity, compliance, and beyond, and I'll do my best to answer. Let's do it!

------------------------------
Valentin Haarscher
------------------------------

It's a complicated topic, and it involves a lot of questions around how vested the employee's stock options are and what you, as the employer, are willing and able to provide.

For instance, you might be able to waive the cliff (most vesting schedules start with a 1 year "cliff" that you have to pass before your options start to vest), accelerate the vesting schedule (allow anyone at any stage who hasn't fully vested to buy in to the company further) or even extend the length of time after the employee has left for them to be able to take advantage of the stock options they have already accrued (known as the post-termination exercise period or PTEP).

There are tax considerations to take into account too if the employee decides to exercise within the PTEP. In the US it's quite simple, but when your employee is based abroad you need to think about whether you still have the obligation to withhold something even though the employee has left the company (how should you notify the tax authorities, should equity be treated as part of the severance package, etc.). It all depends on how your plan is structured and on what the local laws say.

Hey Val! How do you handle equity questions when an employee is terminated? Does that change if they're based outside of the US? 

Hi, Carta Community! I'm Valentin (you can call me Val) and I'm the CEO and Co-founder of Easop. Easop does one thing really well - we make it easy to issue and approve compliant stock option grants to international employees. When you want to issue an options grant to your employee in, say, Poland, you can use Easop to generate documentation compliant with Polish law faster and at lower cost than ever before.

And as part of that, we've had to learn an enormous amount about equity not just in the US, but in 70+ countries across the world.

I'm excited to kick off this Ask Me Anything event, and I'd like to welcome you to ask me all your questions about Easop, international equity, compliance, and beyond, and I'll do my best to answer. Let's do it!

------------------------------
Valentin Haarscher
------------------------------

Hi, Carta Community! I'm Valentin (you can call me Val) and I'm the CEO and Co-founder of Easop. Easop does one thing really well - we make it easy to issue and approve compliant stock option grants to international employees. When you want to issue an options grant to your employee in, say, Poland, you can use Easop to generate documentation compliant with Polish law faster and at lower cost than ever before.

And as part of that, we've had to learn an enormous amount about equity not just in the US, but in 70+ countries across the world.

I'm excited to kick off this Ask Me Anything event, and I'd like to welcome you to ask me all your questions about Easop, international equity, compliance, and beyond, and I'll do my best to answer. Let's do it!

------------------------------
Valentin Haarscher
------------------------------

I went through a funding round where I raised almost totally via SAFE notes. I have quite a few of them now, and now I need to be able to issue options to my employees. The problem is that because some are pre-money, some are post-money, and the valuation cap is different each time, I don't know how to calculate my price per share … which means I can't put a dollar value on the equity grants I plan to make. What's the best way to figure this out?

Hi, Carta Community! I'm Valentin (you can call me Val) and I'm the CEO and Co-founder of Easop. Easop does one thing really well - we make it easy to issue and approve compliant stock option grants to international employees. When you want to issue an options grant to your employee in, say, Poland, you can use Easop to generate documentation compliant with Polish law faster and at lower cost than ever before.

And as part of that, we've had to learn an enormous amount about equity not just in the US, but in 70+ countries across the world.

I'm excited to kick off this Ask Me Anything event, and I'd like to welcome you to ask me all your questions about Easop, international equity, compliance, and beyond, and I'll do my best to answer. Let's do it!

------------------------------
Valentin Haarscher
------------------------------

It can be tricky to simulate the conversion of multiple SAFE notes and get a proper understanding of the company's valuation, the company's latest price per share or one's ownership percentage.

At Easop, we always advise our clients to aim for the highest level of transparency when it comes to communicating equity value. If you, as a founder, want your team to be in the same boat, you need a proper understanding of what you have. Because even if your employees can be fooled by improperly representing company's valuation, that lack of transparency will always come back to bite you.

You can take the highest or the latest valuation cap as a proxy of your company's valuation but keep in mind that you'll have to take into account the dilution impact of these SAFEs when calculating the "SAFE price". Feel free to contact me in DM if you want us to go through the numbers together!

I went through a funding round where I raised almost totally via SAFE notes. I have quite a few of them now, and now I need to be able to issue options to my employees. The problem is that because some are pre-money, some are post-money, and the valuation cap is different each time, I don't know how to calculate my price per share … which means I can't put a dollar value on the equity grants I plan to make. What's the best way to figure this out?

Hi, Carta Community! I'm Valentin (you can call me Val) and I'm the CEO and Co-founder of Easop. Easop does one thing really well - we make it easy to issue and approve compliant stock option grants to international employees. When you want to issue an options grant to your employee in, say, Poland, you can use Easop to generate documentation compliant with Polish law faster and at lower cost than ever before.

And as part of that, we've had to learn an enormous amount about equity not just in the US, but in 70+ countries across the world.

I'm excited to kick off this Ask Me Anything event, and I'd like to welcome you to ask me all your questions about Easop, international equity, compliance, and beyond, and I'll do my best to answer. Let's do it!

------------------------------
Valentin Haarscher
------------------------------

Hi, Carta Community! I'm Valentin (you can call me Val) and I'm the CEO and Co-founder of Easop. Easop does one thing really well - we make it easy to issue and approve compliant stock option grants to international employees. When you want to issue an options grant to your employee in, say, Poland, you can use Easop to generate documentation compliant with Polish law faster and at lower cost than ever before.

And as part of that, we've had to learn an enormous amount about equity not just in the US, but in 70+ countries across the world.

I'm excited to kick off this Ask Me Anything event, and I'd like to welcome you to ask me all your questions about Easop, international equity, compliance, and beyond, and I'll do my best to answer. Let's do it!

------------------------------
Valentin Haarscher
------------------------------

Hi Val,

Are they any specific considerations that I need to make when I issue Options to Canadian employees, at the time I issue them?

Thank you,

Bruce

Hi, Carta Community! I'm Valentin (you can call me Val) and I'm the CEO and Co-founder of Easop. Easop does one thing really well - we make it easy to issue and approve compliant stock option grants to international employees. When you want to issue an options grant to your employee in, say, Poland, you can use Easop to generate documentation compliant with Polish law faster and at lower cost than ever before.

And as part of that, we've had to learn an enormous amount about equity not just in the US, but in 70+ countries across the world.

I'm excited to kick off this Ask Me Anything event, and I'd like to welcome you to ask me all your questions about Easop, international equity, compliance, and beyond, and I'll do my best to answer. Let's do it!

------------------------------
Valentin Haarscher
------------------------------

Hi Val,

Are they any specific considerations that I need to make when I issue Options to Canadian employees, at the time I issue them?

Thank you,

Bruce

Hi, Carta Community! I'm Valentin (you can call me Val) and I'm the CEO and Co-founder of Easop. Easop does one thing really well - we make it easy to issue and approve compliant stock option grants to international employees. When you want to issue an options grant to your employee in, say, Poland, you can use Easop to generate documentation compliant with Polish law faster and at lower cost than ever before.

And as part of that, we've had to learn an enormous amount about equity not just in the US, but in 70+ countries across the world.

I'm excited to kick off this Ask Me Anything event, and I'd like to welcome you to ask me all your questions about Easop, international equity, compliance, and beyond, and I'll do my best to answer. Let's do it!

------------------------------
Valentin Haarscher
------------------------------

Not at the time of issuance itself. However, there are some tax benefits that may be available at the time of exercise of the options (such as a 50% tax reduction) so long we're talking about an employee (not a contractor/advisor).

To be more specific regarding the 50% tax reduction:

The grantee may be able to benefit from a 50% reduction in the taxed amount of the spread. To qualify for this tax benefit, these conditions should be met:

1. The shares acquired as a result of the exercise of the stock options are shares of common stock ("prescribed shares") (this will generally be the case when grants are made through Easop)

2. The strike price is at least equal to the fair market value of the shares at the time of grant (this will be the case when grants are made through Easop, unless you've opted for a lower strike price)

3. The grantee is an employee of a subsidiary which is controlled by the parent company (a « qualifying person »)

4. The grantee dealt at arm's length with the qualifying persons right after the agreement was made (Unless the grantee is already a significant shareholder, they will almost invariably be considered to have dealt at arm's length with the grantor. In general terms, an individual will not be considered to deal at "arm's length" with the grantor if the individual controls the grantor through voting shares or is otherwise able to control the grantor through other means).

Hi Val,

Are they any specific considerations that I need to make when I issue Options to Canadian employees, at the time I issue them?

Thank you,

Bruce

Hi, Carta Community! I'm Valentin (you can call me Val) and I'm the CEO and Co-founder of Easop. Easop does one thing really well - we make it easy to issue and approve compliant stock option grants to international employees. When you want to issue an options grant to your employee in, say, Poland, you can use Easop to generate documentation compliant with Polish law faster and at lower cost than ever before.

And as part of that, we've had to learn an enormous amount about equity not just in the US, but in 70+ countries across the world.

I'm excited to kick off this Ask Me Anything event, and I'd like to welcome you to ask me all your questions about Easop, international equity, compliance, and beyond, and I'll do my best to answer. Let's do it!

------------------------------
Valentin Haarscher
------------------------------

Thank you Val,

This is very helpful and demonstrates that you have great knowledge.

Bruce

Not at the time of issuance itself. However, there are some tax benefits that may be available at the time of exercise of the options (such as a 50% tax reduction) so long we're talking about an employee (not a contractor/advisor).

To be more specific regarding the 50% tax reduction:

The grantee may be able to benefit from a 50% reduction in the taxed amount of the spread. To qualify for this tax benefit, these conditions should be met:

1. The shares acquired as a result of the exercise of the stock options are shares of common stock ("prescribed shares") (this will generally be the case when grants are made through Easop)

2. The strike price is at least equal to the fair market value of the shares at the time of grant (this will be the case when grants are made through Easop, unless you've opted for a lower strike price)

3. The grantee is an employee of a subsidiary which is controlled by the parent company (a « qualifying person »)

4. The grantee dealt at arm's length with the qualifying persons right after the agreement was made (Unless the grantee is already a significant shareholder, they will almost invariably be considered to have dealt at arm's length with the grantor. In general terms, an individual will not be considered to deal at "arm's length" with the grantor if the individual controls the grantor through voting shares or is otherwise able to control the grantor through other means).

Hi Val,

Are they any specific considerations that I need to make when I issue Options to Canadian employees, at the time I issue them?

Thank you,

Bruce

Hi, Carta Community! I'm Valentin (you can call me Val) and I'm the CEO and Co-founder of Easop. Easop does one thing really well - we make it easy to issue and approve compliant stock option grants to international employees. When you want to issue an options grant to your employee in, say, Poland, you can use Easop to generate documentation compliant with Polish law faster and at lower cost than ever before.

And as part of that, we've had to learn an enormous amount about equity not just in the US, but in 70+ countries across the world.

I'm excited to kick off this Ask Me Anything event, and I'd like to welcome you to ask me all your questions about Easop, international equity, compliance, and beyond, and I'll do my best to answer. Let's do it!

------------------------------
Valentin Haarscher
------------------------------

Not at the time of issuance itself. However, there are some tax benefits that may be available at the time of exercise of the options (such as a 50% tax reduction) so long we're talking about an employee (not a contractor/advisor).

To be more specific regarding the 50% tax reduction:

The grantee may be able to benefit from a 50% reduction in the taxed amount of the spread. To qualify for this tax benefit, these conditions should be met:

1. The shares acquired as a result of the exercise of the stock options are shares of common stock ("prescribed shares") (this will generally be the case when grants are made through Easop)

2. The strike price is at least equal to the fair market value of the shares at the time of grant (this will be the case when grants are made through Easop, unless you've opted for a lower strike price)

3. The grantee is an employee of a subsidiary which is controlled by the parent company (a « qualifying person »)

4. The grantee dealt at arm's length with the qualifying persons right after the agreement was made (Unless the grantee is already a significant shareholder, they will almost invariably be considered to have dealt at arm's length with the grantor. In general terms, an individual will not be considered to deal at "arm's length" with the grantor if the individual controls the grantor through voting shares or is otherwise able to control the grantor through other means).

Hi Val,

Are they any specific considerations that I need to make when I issue Options to Canadian employees, at the time I issue them?

Thank you,

Bruce

Hi, Carta Community! I'm Valentin (you can call me Val) and I'm the CEO and Co-founder of Easop. Easop does one thing really well - we make it easy to issue and approve compliant stock option grants to international employees. When you want to issue an options grant to your employee in, say, Poland, you can use Easop to generate documentation compliant with Polish law faster and at lower cost than ever before.

And as part of that, we've had to learn an enormous amount about equity not just in the US, but in 70+ countries across the world.

I'm excited to kick off this Ask Me Anything event, and I'd like to welcome you to ask me all your questions about Easop, international equity, compliance, and beyond, and I'll do my best to answer. Let's do it!

------------------------------
Valentin Haarscher
------------------------------

Val, thank you for this answer! Does the type of equity matter to give our future employee the biggest tax advantage? For our America-based employees, RSAs make the most sense, as they can file 83(b)s. In our case, this person is a US citizen living in Canada.

Not at the time of issuance itself. However, there are some tax benefits that may be available at the time of exercise of the options (such as a 50% tax reduction) so long we're talking about an employee (not a contractor/advisor).

To be more specific regarding the 50% tax reduction:

The grantee may be able to benefit from a 50% reduction in the taxed amount of the spread. To qualify for this tax benefit, these conditions should be met:

1. The shares acquired as a result of the exercise of the stock options are shares of common stock ("prescribed shares") (this will generally be the case when grants are made through Easop)

2. The strike price is at least equal to the fair market value of the shares at the time of grant (this will be the case when grants are made through Easop, unless you've opted for a lower strike price)

3. The grantee is an employee of a subsidiary which is controlled by the parent company (a « qualifying person »)

4. The grantee dealt at arm's length with the qualifying persons right after the agreement was made (Unless the grantee is already a significant shareholder, they will almost invariably be considered to have dealt at arm's length with the grantor. In general terms, an individual will not be considered to deal at "arm's length" with the grantor if the individual controls the grantor through voting shares or is otherwise able to control the grantor through other means).

Hi Val,

Are they any specific considerations that I need to make when I issue Options to Canadian employees, at the time I issue them?

Thank you,

Bruce

Hi, Carta Community! I'm Valentin (you can call me Val) and I'm the CEO and Co-founder of Easop. Easop does one thing really well - we make it easy to issue and approve compliant stock option grants to international employees. When you want to issue an options grant to your employee in, say, Poland, you can use Easop to generate documentation compliant with Polish law faster and at lower cost than ever before.

And as part of that, we've had to learn an enormous amount about equity not just in the US, but in 70+ countries across the world.

I'm excited to kick off this Ask Me Anything event, and I'd like to welcome you to ask me all your questions about Easop, international equity, compliance, and beyond, and I'll do my best to answer. Let's do it!

------------------------------
Valentin Haarscher
------------------------------

Hi, Carta Community! I'm Valentin (you can call me Val) and I'm the CEO and Co-founder of Easop. Easop does one thing really well - we make it easy to issue and approve compliant stock option grants to international employees. When you want to issue an options grant to your employee in, say, Poland, you can use Easop to generate documentation compliant with Polish law faster and at lower cost than ever before.

And as part of that, we've had to learn an enormous amount about equity not just in the US, but in 70+ countries across the world.

I'm excited to kick off this Ask Me Anything event, and I'd like to welcome you to ask me all your questions about Easop, international equity, compliance, and beyond, and I'll do my best to answer. Let's do it!

------------------------------
Valentin Haarscher
------------------------------

I've never issued equity to any international employees, but as we keep growing I'm wondering... are there standard rules/regulations across the EU? Or does each country have specific laws to follow? 

Hi, Carta Community! I'm Valentin (you can call me Val) and I'm the CEO and Co-founder of Easop. Easop does one thing really well - we make it easy to issue and approve compliant stock option grants to international employees. When you want to issue an options grant to your employee in, say, Poland, you can use Easop to generate documentation compliant with Polish law faster and at lower cost than ever before.

And as part of that, we've had to learn an enormous amount about equity not just in the US, but in 70+ countries across the world.

I'm excited to kick off this Ask Me Anything event, and I'd like to welcome you to ask me all your questions about Easop, international equity, compliance, and beyond, and I'll do my best to answer. Let's do it!

------------------------------
Valentin Haarscher
------------------------------

Hi, Carta Community! I'm Valentin (you can call me Val) and I'm the CEO and Co-founder of Easop. Easop does one thing really well - we make it easy to issue and approve compliant stock option grants to international employees. When you want to issue an options grant to your employee in, say, Poland, you can use Easop to generate documentation compliant with Polish law faster and at lower cost than ever before.

And as part of that, we've had to learn an enormous amount about equity not just in the US, but in 70+ countries across the world.

I'm excited to kick off this Ask Me Anything event, and I'd like to welcome you to ask me all your questions about Easop, international equity, compliance, and beyond, and I'll do my best to answer. Let's do it!

------------------------------
Valentin Haarscher
------------------------------

Hey Val, What do you think of globalization/i18n Easop? We are already using Easop, and it would be a dream to see your service translated into my native language and read all the documents in my language. I could also imagine that in some countries, this is even required by law, especially if I want to give employees shares/options!? It would also have an impact on your SEO. It's almost impossible to find Easop in German. 

------------------------------
Jannes Blobel

Original Message:
Sent: 02-20-2024 09:00
From: Valentin Haarscher
Subject: Come Ask Your Questions To Me (Valentin) And The Easop Team!

Hi, Carta Community! I'm Valentin (you can call me Val) and I'm the CEO and Co-founder of Easop. Easop does one thing really well - we make it easy to issue and approve compliant stock option grants to international employees. When you want to issue an options grant to your employee in, say, Poland, you can use Easop to generate documentation compliant with Polish law faster and at lower cost than ever before.

And as part of that, we've had to learn an enormous amount about equity not just in the US, but in 70+ countries across the world.

I'm excited to kick off this Ask Me Anything event, and I'd like to welcome you to ask me all your questions about Easop, international equity, compliance, and beyond, and I'll do my best to answer. Let's do it!

------------------------------
Valentin Haarscher
------------------------------

Hi, Carta Community! I'm Valentin (you can call me Val) and I'm the CEO and Co-founder of Easop. Easop does one thing really well - we make it easy to issue and approve compliant stock option grants to international employees. When you want to issue an options grant to your employee in, say, Poland, you can use Easop to generate documentation compliant with Polish law faster and at lower cost than ever before.

And as part of that, we've had to learn an enormous amount about equity not just in the US, but in 70+ countries across the world.

I'm excited to kick off this Ask Me Anything event, and I'd like to welcome you to ask me all your questions about Easop, international equity, compliance, and beyond, and I'll do my best to answer. Let's do it!

------------------------------
Valentin Haarscher
------------------------------

We're a startup incorporated in Delaware, but most of our team is abroad. Some in Europe, others in South Asia, etc. Obviously, being a company in this phase, we want to be able to provide equity to our employees, but we haven't gotten there yet. It's honestly confusing to figure out whose laws apply here. Is it the US because that's where the business is? Or abroad in the country of each employee? Really hoping for the former, as it would make life easier…

Hi, Carta Community! I'm Valentin (you can call me Val) and I'm the CEO and Co-founder of Easop. Easop does one thing really well - we make it easy to issue and approve compliant stock option grants to international employees. When you want to issue an options grant to your employee in, say, Poland, you can use Easop to generate documentation compliant with Polish law faster and at lower cost than ever before.

And as part of that, we've had to learn an enormous amount about equity not just in the US, but in 70+ countries across the world.

I'm excited to kick off this Ask Me Anything event, and I'd like to welcome you to ask me all your questions about Easop, international equity, compliance, and beyond, and I'll do my best to answer. Let's do it!

------------------------------
Valentin Haarscher
------------------------------

Hi, Carta Community! I'm Valentin (you can call me Val) and I'm the CEO and Co-founder of Easop. Easop does one thing really well - we make it easy to issue and approve compliant stock option grants to international employees. When you want to issue an options grant to your employee in, say, Poland, you can use Easop to generate documentation compliant with Polish law faster and at lower cost than ever before.

And as part of that, we've had to learn an enormous amount about equity not just in the US, but in 70+ countries across the world.

I'm excited to kick off this Ask Me Anything event, and I'd like to welcome you to ask me all your questions about Easop, international equity, compliance, and beyond, and I'll do my best to answer. Let's do it!

------------------------------
Valentin Haarscher
------------------------------

We're still pretty small, but I'm wondering, what's the biggest mistake you see small companies make? Talking Pre-seed and seed-level startups.

Hi, Carta Community! I'm Valentin (you can call me Val) and I'm the CEO and Co-founder of Easop. Easop does one thing really well - we make it easy to issue and approve compliant stock option grants to international employees. When you want to issue an options grant to your employee in, say, Poland, you can use Easop to generate documentation compliant with Polish law faster and at lower cost than ever before.

And as part of that, we've had to learn an enormous amount about equity not just in the US, but in 70+ countries across the world.

I'm excited to kick off this Ask Me Anything event, and I'd like to welcome you to ask me all your questions about Easop, international equity, compliance, and beyond, and I'll do my best to answer. Let's do it!

------------------------------
Valentin Haarscher
------------------------------

Hi, Carta Community! I'm Valentin (you can call me Val) and I'm the CEO and Co-founder of Easop. Easop does one thing really well - we make it easy to issue and approve compliant stock option grants to international employees. When you want to issue an options grant to your employee in, say, Poland, you can use Easop to generate documentation compliant with Polish law faster and at lower cost than ever before.

And as part of that, we've had to learn an enormous amount about equity not just in the US, but in 70+ countries across the world.

I'm excited to kick off this Ask Me Anything event, and I'd like to welcome you to ask me all your questions about Easop, international equity, compliance, and beyond, and I'll do my best to answer. Let's do it!

------------------------------
Valentin Haarscher
------------------------------

I'm working on launching an ESOP for my employees, but I don't really want to provide a 1-year cliff for many of them. They've been with me long enough that I'd like them to start vesting right away. Is there any problem with this? Can I change the vesting schedule for some employees? 

Hi, Carta Community! I'm Valentin (you can call me Val) and I'm the CEO and Co-founder of Easop. Easop does one thing really well - we make it easy to issue and approve compliant stock option grants to international employees. When you want to issue an options grant to your employee in, say, Poland, you can use Easop to generate documentation compliant with Polish law faster and at lower cost than ever before.

And as part of that, we've had to learn an enormous amount about equity not just in the US, but in 70+ countries across the world.

I'm excited to kick off this Ask Me Anything event, and I'd like to welcome you to ask me all your questions about Easop, international equity, compliance, and beyond, and I'll do my best to answer. Let's do it!

------------------------------
Valentin Haarscher
------------------------------

Hi, Carta Community! I'm Valentin (you can call me Val) and I'm the CEO and Co-founder of Easop. Easop does one thing really well - we make it easy to issue and approve compliant stock option grants to international employees. When you want to issue an options grant to your employee in, say, Poland, you can use Easop to generate documentation compliant with Polish law faster and at lower cost than ever before.

And as part of that, we've had to learn an enormous amount about equity not just in the US, but in 70+ countries across the world.

I'm excited to kick off this Ask Me Anything event, and I'd like to welcome you to ask me all your questions about Easop, international equity, compliance, and beyond, and I'll do my best to answer. Let's do it!

------------------------------
Valentin Haarscher
------------------------------

It's been a tough year and a lot of my employees' option grants have an exercise price per share higher than the current actual fair market value of one share (effectively - they're underwater). I'm considering some sort of repricing to get their options back to FMV and motivate them. What's the best way to handle this?

Hi, Carta Community! I'm Valentin (you can call me Val) and I'm the CEO and Co-founder of Easop. Easop does one thing really well - we make it easy to issue and approve compliant stock option grants to international employees. When you want to issue an options grant to your employee in, say, Poland, you can use Easop to generate documentation compliant with Polish law faster and at lower cost than ever before.

And as part of that, we've had to learn an enormous amount about equity not just in the US, but in 70+ countries across the world.

I'm excited to kick off this Ask Me Anything event, and I'd like to welcome you to ask me all your questions about Easop, international equity, compliance, and beyond, and I'll do my best to answer. Let's do it!

------------------------------
Valentin Haarscher
------------------------------

Hi, Carta Community! I'm Valentin (you can call me Val) and I'm the CEO and Co-founder of Easop. Easop does one thing really well - we make it easy to issue and approve compliant stock option grants to international employees. When you want to issue an options grant to your employee in, say, Poland, you can use Easop to generate documentation compliant with Polish law faster and at lower cost than ever before.

And as part of that, we've had to learn an enormous amount about equity not just in the US, but in 70+ countries across the world.

I'm excited to kick off this Ask Me Anything event, and I'd like to welcome you to ask me all your questions about Easop, international equity, compliance, and beyond, and I'll do my best to answer. Let's do it!

------------------------------
Valentin Haarscher
------------------------------

Well, that will about do it! Thank you to all who participated for the great questions. I hope I was able to provide you some perspective into the international equity process.

If you want to learn more about Easop and how we can help make international equity easier for your company, then feel free to jump on a call! https://go.easop.com/ama

I'm sure there will be a few extra questions, so I'll be happy to come back later to check on and answer those, no worries.

One more thing - we're going to gather all the questions and answers and make a blog post on the topic - so if you want even more value from this AMA, click above to sign up to get notified when it's available!

Have a great rest of your day 👋

Hi, Carta Community! I'm Valentin (you can call me Val) and I'm the CEO and Co-founder of Easop. Easop does one thing really well - we make it easy to issue and approve compliant stock option grants to international employees. When you want to issue an options grant to your employee in, say, Poland, you can use Easop to generate documentation compliant with Polish law faster and at lower cost than ever before.

And as part of that, we've had to learn an enormous amount about equity not just in the US, but in 70+ countries across the world.

I'm excited to kick off this Ask Me Anything event, and I'd like to welcome you to ask me all your questions about Easop, international equity, compliance, and beyond, and I'll do my best to answer. Let's do it!

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Valentin Haarscher
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Hi, Carta Community! I'm Valentin (you can call me Val) and I'm the CEO and Co-founder of Easop. Easop does one thing really well - we make it easy to issue and approve compliant stock option grants to international employees. When you want to issue an options grant to your employee in, say, Poland, you can use Easop to generate documentation compliant with Polish law faster and at lower cost than ever before.

And as part of that, we've had to learn an enormous amount about equity not just in the US, but in 70+ countries across the world.

I'm excited to kick off this Ask Me Anything event, and I'd like to welcome you to ask me all your questions about Easop, international equity, compliance, and beyond, and I'll do my best to answer. Let's do it!

------------------------------
Valentin Haarscher
------------------------------

Hey Val! Thanks for the great tidbits here. I have one for you: I've had a buyer approach my company (about 2 years old) and I'm considering an early exit. The thing is, a lot of my employees haven't hit their 1-year cliff yet, so they haven't vested any shares. I'm considering allowing early exercise so they can take part in the acquisition. What are your thoughts on this?

Hi, Carta Community! I'm Valentin (you can call me Val) and I'm the CEO and Co-founder of Easop. Easop does one thing really well - we make it easy to issue and approve compliant stock option grants to international employees. When you want to issue an options grant to your employee in, say, Poland, you can use Easop to generate documentation compliant with Polish law faster and at lower cost than ever before.

And as part of that, we've had to learn an enormous amount about equity not just in the US, but in 70+ countries across the world.

I'm excited to kick off this Ask Me Anything event, and I'd like to welcome you to ask me all your questions about Easop, international equity, compliance, and beyond, and I'll do my best to answer. Let's do it!

------------------------------
Valentin Haarscher
------------------------------

Hi, Carta Community! I'm Valentin (you can call me Val) and I'm the CEO and Co-founder of Easop. Easop does one thing really well - we make it easy to issue and approve compliant stock option grants to international employees. When you want to issue an options grant to your employee in, say, Poland, you can use Easop to generate documentation compliant with Polish law faster and at lower cost than ever before.

And as part of that, we've had to learn an enormous amount about equity not just in the US, but in 70+ countries across the world.

I'm excited to kick off this Ask Me Anything event, and I'd like to welcome you to ask me all your questions about Easop, international equity, compliance, and beyond, and I'll do my best to answer. Let's do it!

------------------------------
Valentin Haarscher
------------------------------

I hope I'm not too late to ask, but have a question that is likely up your alley. 

We've just hired our first international employee in Ecuador to handle customer service issues, and we did it through Remote as the employer of record. I wanted to make an NSO grant to her, but I'm not sure what the legal requirements are. We're in California if that matters.

Hi, Carta Community! I'm Valentin (you can call me Val) and I'm the CEO and Co-founder of Easop. Easop does one thing really well - we make it easy to issue and approve compliant stock option grants to international employees. When you want to issue an options grant to your employee in, say, Poland, you can use Easop to generate documentation compliant with Polish law faster and at lower cost than ever before.

And as part of that, we've had to learn an enormous amount about equity not just in the US, but in 70+ countries across the world.

I'm excited to kick off this Ask Me Anything event, and I'd like to welcome you to ask me all your questions about Easop, international equity, compliance, and beyond, and I'll do my best to answer. Let's do it!

------------------------------
Valentin Haarscher
------------------------------