Sharechat’s ESOP pool hits $35 million as company allots $14 million to employees

• Sharechat has announced that it has added $14 million to its ESOP (employee stock ownership plan) pool, taking the total to $35 million.
• Sharechat now has over 160 million monthly active users and also launched a video sharing platform Moj, right after the TikTok ban.
• The company said that the ESOPs were a way to reward the employees for their hard work.

Indian social media platform Sharechat has announced that it has added $14 million to its ESOP (employee stock ownership plan) pool, taking the total to $35 million. The five-year-old startup also said that 50% additional ESOPs have been awarded as a bonus to employees who already held shares in the company.

“The ESOPs have also been extended to every employee on its payroll including administrative staff who were not holding any ESOP earlier,” said the company.

Sharechat has been driving high numbers, exceeding 160 million monthly active users recently, and also launched a video sharing platform Moj right after the TikTok ban. The company said that the ESOPs were a way to reward the employees for their hard work.

“The foundation of our existence has been purely our people, combined with their passion and energy. Our growth since inception has not been without challenges, but we have always managed to come out of these challenges unscathed just on the strength of our people. The additional ESOP is a measure of small appreciation for this commitment, and a recognition of our team’s efforts. The new pool will keep us well placed for rewarding our teams in the future as well,” said Ankush Sachdeva, CEO & Co-founder, ShareChat.

Startups hop on the ESOPs bandwagon

With this, Sharechat joins the numerous Indian startups who have been rewarding ESOPs to employees during the pandemic. Recently, Zerodha announced that from the ESOP pool of ₹200 crore, employees will be permitted to sell 5-50% of the 33% of their shares that vest this year. When the ESOP money hit the banks of the employees, founder Nithin Kamath had called it the “most satisfying day” as an entrepreneur.

Home services startup Urban Company had announced its third ESOP sale for $5 million. Meanwhile, OYO had allotted ESOPs (employee stock ownership plan) worth ₹130 crore ($18 million) for its furloughed employees.


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