Behind the scenes of any one of todayâs successful startups, youâll find a maze of complexities and moving parts. As young companies grow, so does the paperwork. From managing health insurance benefits to overseeing perks and managing compensation, the to-dos are seemingly infinite. And there is only so much administrative legwork that companies can keep in house. Thatâs where eShares enters the picture.
eShares offers equity management solutions to thousands of fast-growing startups across the United States, simplifying operations leadersâ (and employeesâ) lives. eShares is thus heavily involved in the 83(b) election process, which allows restricted stock holders to reduce their tax liability by freezing the spread between the purchase price and the fair market value of the shares on their date of exercise. When employees file their elections within 30 days of exercise, they pay taxes immediately rather than waiting for the grant or award to fully vest.
The challenge with the 83(b) election process is that itâs paper-based. Itâs easy for important mailing steps to fall through the cracks. âThe only way to do it is to actually write the letter and send it to the IRS,â explains Josh Merrill, head of product at eShares. âHistorically, the companyâs legal counsel is responsible for making sure that everyone who should file an 83(b) does. Companies are responsible for doing a withholding on each employeeâs income, to pay taxes associated with not filing that 83(b).â
When small details slide, the long-term ramifications can become costly.
âThere have been extreme cases in which a startup has done fantastically well, with an employee who early exercised but has forgotten to file an 83(b),â explains Merrill. "As a result, an employeeâs tax liability exceeds their income. Companies and their legal counsel need to ensure everybody who's supposed to file an 83(b) election does so. Weâve seen situations where companies have repurchased and undone previous transactionsâat price points of thousands of dollars per case.â
On a mission to save startups from paperwork-related headaches, eShares set out to build an automated 83(b) process that could handle mailings on employeesâ behalfs. Their search for a vendor led them to Lobâs direct mail API.
âWe just didnât want to be in the business of putting things into envelopes, so Lob was a natural choice,â says Merrill. âAfter testing it out, we realized that it was the only way to handle the volume we were facing.â
Hereâs a behind-the-scenes look into their process.
With new efficiencies, the eShares team is building outâyou guessed itâmore efficiencies.
âEverything we do is about helping our customers save time,â says Merrill. âWhen we free up our time, we have more brainpower to devote to tackling their customersâ direct mail challenges.â
Whatâs next on the horizon for eShares?
âWeâre ultimately working on helping startups tackle their Blue Sky filing challenges,â says Merrill. âWhen a company that raises a new round, that companyâs legal counsel will need to do some state filings. Most states require paper-based filings. Consequently, we have a new use case for Lob.â
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