Vestd

For Happiness at Work Week, our founder, Ifty Nasir OBE, shared his advice in The Times on facilitating others' success. A few points worth stealing: 1. You hired people for their skills. Let them use them. 2. If bad news can't reach you, you're leading blind. 3. Don't guess how your people feel. Ask them. 4. Culture doesn't happen by accident. 5. Success is never one person's. 6. Don't stop learning. Read it here: https://lnkd.in/etp5ZXp4

Sometimes, it’s the small things that remind you how much thought goes into creating a good workplace. ☔ I almost forgot about the company umbrella I had received — until the day I actually needed it. Standing in the rain with that umbrella, I found myself thinking about how thoughtful gestures don’t always feel significant when we receive them. But when the right moment comes, they can make a real difference. It’s a simple umbrella, but it represents something bigger: thoughtfulness, care, and being prepared for the unexpected. A little reminder that creating a great employee experience isn’t always about the big things. Sometimes, it’s about the small things that quietly say, “We’ve got you covered.” ❤️ Thank you, Vestd, for the thoughtful gesture. ☂️

"It becomes the proverbial piece of paper in the drawer." Yesterday, Stuart James, Partner at MM & K, joined Alan Clarke and Kevin Lim to talk through what's happening in employee ownership at the moment, and a lot of the discussion kept coming back to scheme design and liquidity. A handful of takeaways: → Equity has to stay motivating "If you don't understand the purpose of what the plan is going to do for your business, it's very difficult to get people excited and keep them excited for the long piece. It becomes the proverbial piece of paper in the drawer." ... Giving people equity is only the start. The harder question is whether it still means something to them a year or two down the line, especially when any payout could be several years away. → Liquidity is coming up more and more "If your incentive plan doesn't have a direct line of sight to cash (and it doesn't mean it has to be today), that's where things become 'I don't really know why I've got this or what it's doing for me.'" ... Nobody's saying an exit has to be around the corner. But people holding equity want a clearer picture of how it might eventually turn into real value. Newer options like PISCES give private companies another way to approach this. → Attitudes to ownership are shifting Stuart pointed to a wider change in how people see ownership and reward. For some employees and senior leaders, owning a piece of the business is about being involved and pulling in the same direction as the company. It can be a status thing, too. So the way a scheme is designed and communicated matters more than it used to, and it needs looking after long after launch. Thanks to Stuart and the MM&K team for partnering with us, and to everyone who came along. If you missed it, or fancy another listen, the recording's here: https://lnkd.in/eJrGYcdx

Employee ownership isn't a perk anymore; it's a competitive edge. See how the UK's top private companies are using it to outpace the competition. Join our virtual roundtable TOMORROW at 2 PM BST. Your expert panel: 1️⃣ Stuart James, Partner at MM & K 2️⃣ Kevin Lim, Strategic Relationship Manager at Vestd 3️⃣ Alan Clarke, Enterprise Sales Lead at Vestd Here's what you'll walk away with: ☑️ A clear read on the changing landscape: including EMI eligibility expansion, why incentive arrangements are under review, and how equity is spreading beyond founder-led businesses. ☑️ The trends redefining the market: from legacy scheme reassessment to retention overtaking recruitment as the key driver, plus rising expectations around cap table accuracy and reporting automation. ☑️ What we're seeing on the ground: Covering shifts in remuneration strategy, executive incentives, and how to align equity plans with business objectives. ☑️ What's coming next: Board planning priorities, evolving liquidity options, PISCES and other emerging mechanisms, governance expectations, and predictions for the year ahead. Plus: bring your questions for a live Q&A with the panel. Totally free. Open to everyone. Sign up here: https://lnkd.in/egj9dzKr See you soon!

Autumn is here, and we know that by the arrival of Bethnal Green Ventures' latest cohort. 🍁 Congrats to ClauseMap, GreenGuard Tech, Hunique, Maricene, Noticed, Nurevo, Recess Labs, Scitus Labs, Theronix, Vayla Health, Verity, VolkCell - you're in good company! 👏

We’re pleased to be supporting Onstage (by Sifted) again for their next Demo Day, connecting ambitious founders with investors from across Europe. For this cohort, 350+ VCs will review applications, including investors from Sequoia Capital, Balderton, LocalGlobe and Cherry Ventures. Twenty founders will then be selected to pitch in London on 21 October, in front of 200+ investors. If you’re a pre-seed to Series A founder looking to raise, applications are open until 9am on Tuesday 22 September. We’re looking forward to supporting another cohort of ambitious founders and seeing what comes next. 👋 Apply today: https://lnkd.in/eHwkeSaG

News broke this week that Pulley, one of the more interesting challengers in cap table software, is shutting down after seven years and $50m+ raised from some of the best investors in the business. Plenty of well-funded startups don't make it but the closure of Pulley - scheduled for December - comes as something of a surprise.   Carta, the very company Pulley spent years trying to unseat, has stepped in to migrate Pulley's customers onto its own platform, matching their existing pricing for a year and crediting any unused subscription toward the new account. That seems like a good outcome for the founders and finance teams caught in the middle, and credit to both companies for handling it that way. Losing your cap table provider with weeks' notice is a stressful thing to navigate, and nobody wants to see customers scrambling. Changing providers can be challenging - cap tables aren’t like most SaaS tools. Switching means legal complexity, covering 409A valuations, option grants, and years of history. That stickiness protects incumbents, for better or worse. We've built Vestd on the notion that equity and ownership works best when it's built for the long term. We understand the pain of migrating to a new platform and have created a slick process to help founders and CFOs to make the switch, with our specialists on hand to help pull everything across. If you’ve been affected we will: - Match Pulley’s current price for the first six months - Waive our standard migration costs - Provide concierge onboarding support. Vestd is a powerful, cost-effective way to manage equity, with the flexibility to support companies and teams across markets, including those with complex, global employee structures. So, if you're caught up in the Pulley situation and want a second opinion before you land somewhere, we're always happy to talk. 

1 week to go! Join MM & K's Stuart James, Alan Clarke and Kevin Lim next Tuesday at 2 PM to unpack what's happening with private company ownership. Sign up here: https://lnkd.in/egj9dzKr

We’re heading to From Growth to Gold with Prolific North, where we’ll connect with agency leaders, hear about their experiences building teams, and share strategies for scaling and building a loyal team. We’re looking forward to being part of the conversation around one of the biggest challenges for growing businesses: How do you attract, retain and reward the people who help you get there? We believe that sustainable business growth starts with investing in the people behind it, and we’re proud to support a community of ambitious business leaders navigating that journey. See you in Leeds on 8 October 👋