Founders' Circle | Incentive Plans for Employees (tax & legal)

Last Tuesday, we were delighted to welcome founders to our Lausanne offices for a Founders' Circle workshop, held in support of VentureLab.

Alexandre Gachet (Partner, M&A) and Serge Migy (Partner, Tax) walked us through employee incentive plans: why they matter, how share plans, ESOPs and phantom plans differ, and which legal and tax questions come with each. The discussion was lively, the questions sharp and the conversations carried on over an apéro.

Here are two things founders should keep in mind:

• Be mindful of the fundamental distinction between founder shares and employee shares, particularly where a co-founder is expected to join the company at a later stage.

• Think carefully about the incentives you wish to offer your employees: there are few "one size fits all" solutions, as each company has its own needs and employee incentives should fit within an overall HR policy.

Thank you to Alexandre and Serge for sharing their expertise, to everyone who joined us, and to VentureLab for the partnership.