[Zoom Meeting] Doug Bend & Brandon Shelton – The First Hires: Basics of Equity Incentive Plans for Startups

When:
September 2, 2021 @ 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm America/Los Angeles Timezone
2021-09-02T15:00:00-07:00
2021-09-02T16:30:00-07:00
Cost:
Free
Contact:
Maya Juergens-Ingle

When a new startup forms, there is often a great deal of confusion around who owns the company, and how equity can be provided to the company’s first employees. This presentation will begin by identifying how a company’s founders take ownership, and how they should plan for the future new hires. It will then walk through the most common early types of equity issued to early employees, including restricted stock awards, options, and early exercisable options.

Following a good understanding of these types of employee and service provider grants, we will then discuss the responsibilities of the company with respect to issuing and receiving shares. In particular, we will discuss the importance of a 409A valuation, and the 83(b) election. The slides will be explained by showing hypothetical examples of a startup that is contemplating issuing shares of stock to its founders and its early employees, and ways in which those employees could help or hurt themselves in relation to their responsibilities as stockholders.

Doug  Bend
Doug is the founder of Bend Law Group, PC, a law firm focused on advising small businesses and startups. He has been featured in numerous publications, including The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, Fox Business, MSN, Inc., and Forbes. Raised in Omaha, Doug is a graduate of Drake University where he graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa with his B.A. in Political Science and History. He also received an M.A. in Political Science from the University of Nebraska and his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center.

Brandon Shelton
Brandon is a business and startup associate, focusing on assisting new and emerging businesses in all of their transactional matters. He has represented clients from a wide array of industries, including tech and app developers, filmmakers, breweries, wineries and restaurants, real estate companies, and even chocolate makers. He has counseled clients on corporate formation, late stage preferred financing rounds, mergers & acquisitions, and everything in between. He also serves as outside-inside counsel, providing general counseling on all day-to-day matters, including licensing, brand management, and employee stock incentive plans. Brandon was formerly a computer programmer in the U.S. Air Force, and received his bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara in Dramatic Arts. Brandon received his J.D. at King Hall at the University of California, Davis.

*** 1.0 hours MCLE credit ***