This article lays out the options for a company who want to use their existing scheme documentation through the Vestd platform
Many of our customers use their own share scheme documents on Vestd, rather than our standard precedents. In these cases there are a number of alternative ways of doing it, and a conversation with us is usually best to finalise the most appropriate way forward. Having said that, this article lays out the most common alternatives.
1. Create and execute the documents off platform and then upload as a pdf - this option is typically chosen if your existing agreements are deeds, and you or your lawyers are unwilling to adapt them.
2. For Vestd to turn your existing agreement into a template on the platform, such that all your new agreements are automatically generated by the platform. This is what most people choose who expect a large number of agreements (10+) to be issued going forwards.
To achieve this you must re-configure the agreement as a contract that can be accepted on the platform. This requires your lawyer to tweak your existing agreements: to include a consideration, so that it is a contract; to adapt the clauses that explicitly grant a Power of Attorney (which normally require it to be executed as a deed), such that granting the POA becomes a commercial condition if required on exercise; to adapt the signature section of their agreement such that it can be electronically offered and accepted via the platform.
3. Generate an agreement from the platform, that is as close as possible to your existing agreements, and then tweak clauses as necessary to reflect any unusual or specific commercial terms you wanted additionally included.
Our team, content and app can help you make informed decisions. However, any guidance and support should not be considered as 'legal, tax or financial advice.'