[NEXT] Lunch & Learn: How to Navigate ESOPs in 2026

Offering equity can be an important part of making early hires when a startup cannot match corporate salaries. This online Lunch & Learn examines how employee equity arrangements work today, alongside proposed tax changes that are still being developed.

Built for B2B software founders from idea to seed who are making their first few hires, the session is led by Toby Eggleston, Head of Tax, Australia at Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer.

What the session will cover

• How employee share schemes and the startup concession currently work
• Options, shares and other plan structures, including their trade-offs
• Approaches to structuring an equity offer for a key hire
• Keeping ESOP documentation and cap table records organised
• The status of proposed tax changes to startup equity gains
• Considerations for founders’ own shareholdings
• Questions to ask before establishing or updating an ESOP

Who it’s for

• Founders planning to offer equity to a key hire
• Founders who used an ESOP template and want to assess whether it remains suitable
• Founders seeking to understand what potential rule changes could mean for their company

Speaker

Toby Eggleston is a Partner and Head of Tax, Australia at Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer. His work includes corporate tax, M&A, private equity and venture capital, and he has contributed to Treasury submissions on the taxation of employee share schemes, private equity and venture capital.

Format

This is an online event.