Candidates get a reason to choose you
Most SMEs don't offer it, so it helps you win people who would otherwise join a bigger employer.
Share the value with key people and keep the votes
Of 606 managers surveyed at Dutch firms with more than 10 staff, only 17% said their company offers employee participation. Be one of the few, and hire and keep better people.
“We were looking for an accessible solution to enable employees to participate in our growing organisation in various ways.” Daan Brink, Proximities
Most SMEs don't offer this, so you stand out
17%
of 606 managers surveyedat Dutch firms with more than 10 staff said their company offers employee participation
Your key people get a reason to stay
Options and SARs vest over time, so leaving early means giving up the unvested part.
Most owners start from one of these situations
Today
The promise lives in an email
- A key manager asks for a stake, and you want to keep the votes.
- You once promised people "a share", and nothing was written down.
- When someone leaves, nobody knows what they keep.
With Share Council
Every holder sees the same plan
- The votes stay with the STAK board, and with SARs no shares change hands.
- Every purchase has a dated price and a signed deed.
- You stop vesting on a leaver's last day, and the report shows what they kept.
The Key People Plan in five steps
These steps follow the STAK route.
Choose the route
Pick a STAK, SARs or options with your adviser or in an expert hour.
Set up the legal side
A notary forms the STAK, and moving your BV shares into it also needs a notarial deed.
Create your account
Enter today's shareholders after a KVK lookup, or have our team import an existing scheme as a paid service.
Set a dated price
Value the company with our partner Equidam, or add your adviser's report.
Invite people and run rounds
Employees sign each purchase or grant in their own account, with a new round at each valuation.
Your team can check the price of every round
Tulpwerk staff buy certificates each year at that year's valuation, from €3.00 in 2023 to €4.80 in 2026.
Tulpwerk is our demo company. The numbers are made up, the screens are real.
Nothing moves until it is signed and paid
The employee signs the deed in Dutch or English and pays the STAK or the seller directly. The purchase completes once the payment is confirmed, and Share Council never holds the money.
When someone leaves, the rule is already on record
Jesse left Tulpwerk on 31 August 2024 with 4,000 options. His vesting stopped on his last day, so he kept 2,166 and 1,834 went back to the pool.
Your plan documents set the rule, and you record any buyback at the agreed price.
Hover, tap or use the arrow keys.
Cliff: month 12
Left in month 26: 2,166 kept
- Vested options (4,000 granted, 1-year cliff)
A bigger company makes your smaller slice worth more
If the company doubles in value with your people, your 80% is worth more than your 100% was.
The numbers are made up and are not a forecast.
These companies already share the value with their people
What convinced me was their clarity. They helped us set up the structure, the STAK, and the platform in a way that made sense for us.
Rockfeather grew from ten employees to over 30
It uses certificates and options, and it has paid its first dividend to certificate holders.
Read the story
Common Easy set up a STAK for its team
Its people hold certificates and share in dividends and any future sale.
Read the storySolar Clarity made its employees co-owners
It set up a STAK so that everyone shares in the company's success.
Read the storyStart with your own cap table, found by its KVK number.
Create an accountWhat you get in the Key People Plan
What you getWhat it means for you
An expert hour to choose the route
1 hourwith a Share Council specialist
Certificates through a STAK, or SARs
10 typesof instrument
A dated price with the report attached
1 pricefor every purchase
Purchases with a signed deed and a payment
2 languagesfor every contract
A leaver rule you can carry out
Any datefor the vesting report
A wallet and yearly statement per holder
2 dates1 January and 31 December
The Route Memo
One written page after your expert hour on the route, the notary's role and the cost.
1 pagefor your accountant
Certificates and SARs need a paid plan. The free plan covers your cap table. See the plans and prices.
Know which route fits, or the hour is free
Bring your shareholder list to one expert hour and leave with the Route Memo. If we can't tell you which route fits, you don't pay for that hour.
Looking around in the platform is free.
As the company grows, people who join later pay a higher price.
What Share Council doesn't do for owners
Share Council is not the right fit if
- You want leaver clauses applied for youYou record what the agreement says, and the platform doesn't apply it.
- You need tax adviceYour tax adviser answers when an employee pays tax.
If you are not sure, book an expert hour and ask.
Owners choose one of three ways to share value
| What changes | Profit-share agreement | SARs | Certificates through a STAK |
|---|---|---|---|
| What the employee gets | Part of the yearly profit, in cash | Usually cash, equal to the rise in value of a set number of shares | Certificates with the economic rights of the shares |
| Votes on the shares | None | None, because no shares change hands | Stay with the STAK board |
| Does the employee pay in? | No | No | Usually yes, or options on certificates instead |
| Notary needed | Ask your adviser | No, it's a contract with the employee | Yes, to set up the STAK. Certificates then move without a notary |
| What Share Council does | Nothing, it lives in your payroll | Records grants and valuations, with a wallet per employee | Records the STAK, certificates, purchases, leavers and wallets |
This is general information, not tax or legal advice. Our SAR vs STAK article goes deeper.
Questions owner-directors ask before they start
Do I keep control of my company?
It depends on the structure. With a STAK, the foundation holds the shares and its board votes on them. With SARs no shares change hands.
Which structure fits a company like mine?
A STAK with certificates suits a buy-in. For a reward without a buy-in, owners often choose SARs or options on certificates.
Do I still need a notary?
For a STAK, yes. A notary forms the foundation, and moving BV shares into it needs a notarial deed. After that, certificates move between people without a notary.
What happens when an employee leaves?
Your plan documents decide, and the platform doesn't apply leaver clauses on its own. The knowledge base explains what happens when a co-owner leaves.
How do we agree on a price?
Value the company with our partner Equidam from the Valuation tab, or use your adviser's report. Share Council records the price with its date and report.
What if my people don't want to take a risk?
Then pick a route where they don't pay in. SARs usually pay cash equal to the rise in value of a set number of shares, and options on certificates fix the exercise price on the grant day.
See your own cap table before you choose
The free plan lets you enter today's shareholders before you choose a paid one.