ESOPs Baatcheet with Sandeep Jethwani and Shweta Rajpal Kohli

💼 India's startup employees are sitting on over ₹14 lakh crore of ESOP wealth. Yet, as per a Dezerv survey, fewer than half can work out how many shares they've actually earned.

The instrument that could become the biggest financial outcome of your career is probably the one you understand least. Every decision about it — when to exercise, whether to sell in a buyback, or whether to stay one more year for the next vest — has likely been made alone, with no one to compare notes with.

This session puts those questions on the table.

What we'll get into:

1. How to actually value the equity in an offer
2. The tax that hits before the payday, and the 90-day window most people discover too late
3. When holding your full stake is conviction, and when it's an unhedged bet
4. Golden handcuffs: when staying for the next vest is a wealth decision, and when it's a story you're telling yourself
5. What to do with the money once it's real

The conversation will be facilitated by Sandeep Jethwani, co-founder of Dezerv and author of The Millionaire Employee, India's first comprehensive guide to ESOP wealth — drawing on a question bank of 1,000+ real questions from ESOP holders.

We'll close with a policy round facilitated by Shweta Rajpal Kohli, President & CEO of Startup Policy Forum, discussing the challenges written into tax law. Inputs from the room will contribute to a formal ESOP Reform Note.

Hosted by the Startup Policy Forum and Dezerv.

🪑 Seats are limited. This is a candid, closed-room discussion, so please come with the questions you've never asked out loud.

Startup Policy Forum is India's leading industry body for the new-age economy, representing 75+ of India's largest and fastest-growing startups, with a combined valuation of more than $100 billion.

🔗 Join the discussion here — this event is part of Basecamp, a community-powered tech week in Bengaluru bringing founders, builders, and operators together. Basecamp is free for the community and powered by the community.