“Almost everyone in the startup world has heard of ”ESOP,„ but few know how to implement it properly. In this episode, we’ll explain it from the ground up. Štefan Šurina, founder of the legal-tech firm ELDISON—who has spent years helping startups and scaleups with investments, ESOPs, and international expansion, and Jan Čurn, founder and CEO of Apify and EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2025 for Prague, who will add a practitioner’s perspective. In this episode, we’ll go from the basics to the details: what an ESOP actually is and what it’s used for, when to start thinking about it as a founder, how large a pool to allocate, and who to offer it to. We’ll also dive deeper—into virtual versus real ESOPs, tax implications, and new legislation, as well as how to properly “sell” an ESOP to key people, how vesting works, and what to do with employees who leave. A practical guide for any founder who wants to motivate their team by offering a stake in the company without getting lost in legal and tax complexities. Moderated by Veronika Šimková and Pavel Přikryl.
