Esops in start-ups don't guarantee a windfall

Understand the terms and condition for vesting of employee stock options before you opt for them

Imagine you join a start-up and are made part of an employee stock option plan (Esop). You work hard and contribute to the company’s growth. The start-up gets acquired. The founders make money, the investors make money, but the employees don’t get to offer their stocks in this deal.

This may run contrary to the popular belief that Esops are a wealth creation tool, but there have been many cases where employees have ended up being disappointed, even felt betrayed. "Sometimes an employee doesn't understand the fine print or how the ESOP policy operates. When a start-up is acquired, the