Meesho, social commerce platform’s largest investor Naspers has bought employee stock options worth $1 million. As per reports, around 20 early employees at Meesho, have chosen to sell 30 percent of their vested equity. Sanjeev Barnwal, founder and CTO of Meesho said that liquidity events like these show our employees, that Meesho’s stock options have real value.
Meesho has a strength of around 820 employees. Last year, Naspers had invested $125 million, along with participation from US tech firm Facebook. Existing investor SAIF Partners, Sequoia Capital, Shunwei Capital, RPS and Venture Highway also took part.
Barnwal said that Meesho grants ESOPs to employees based on performance. The stocks allocated by Meesho are vested over four years. Meesho continues to hire in technology and business roles across levels. Founded in 2015, Meesho enables small businesses and individuals to start their online stores via platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram.
Talking about the Indian startup ecosystem, it has seen very selective employees stock buybacks as compared to the number of startups that hire based on these grants. There are companies like Flipkart, Ninjacart, Unacademy, Oyo, Razorpay, Cardekho, Zomato, and Bombay Shaving Company, and others that have generated liquidity for their employees through a buyback.