Free ESOP Policy Evaluator by Dezerv

Free ESOP Policy Evaluator by Dezerv

Two ESOP offers with identical share counts can be worth wildly different amounts, and the difference sits in the fine print most employees skip: cliff period, vesting schedule, exercise window and whether the company offers single trigger or double trigger acceleration. A one year cliff followed by monthly or quarterly vesting is standard; back loaded vesting that pushes most shares to year three or four is a red flag worth questioning. This evaluator turns how to evaluate an ESOP offer into a structured score instead of a gut feeling. Answer questions about your ESOP grant letter, vesting schedule, ESOP pool size and post termination exercise window, some companies give you 30 days to exercise after leaving, others extend it to a year, and get an ESOP score sheet flagging red flags in the offer letter before you sign anything. It covers the questions to ask before accepting an ESOP that HR won't raise unprompted: buyback terms, whether the exercise price is locked or resets, and clawback clauses. Use it to compare offers or negotiate the terms that actually move outcomes.