Not Optional

🇳🇱 The Netherlands ranks among the worst globally for startup stock option policies, making it hard for startups to attract and retain talent. Now there is a movement to change it. Sign a petition started by Dutch founders, operators and investors: http://flywheel.ing

“Seven European countries have changed their laws to increase employee ownership in startups to rival the U.S. in attracting talent and investment, while other countries are lagging.” “Germany, France, Portugal and the UK lead European countries in making changes that match or exceed those of the U.S., while Finland, Switzerland, Norway and Sweden got lower ratings in the Index report,” reports Reuters’ Supantha Mukherjee. Thank you!

For Europe’s tech ecosystem to thrive, its startups must be able to attract and retain the best talent by offering employees a share in the success 🇪🇺 That’s why, in 2019, Index Ventures launched Not Optional alongside 500 European startup founders and CEOs to campaign for stock option policy reform across the continent. After five years of campaigning, we’ve seen: 🎯 Policy reforms across 11 European countries 🏆 7 European countries with stock option policies that exceed or match that of the US 💸 €5bn in equity transferred to startup employees 📈 Employee ownership at late-stage startups increase from 12% to 16%📋 Stock options taken up as an EU priority With European competitiveness in the spotlight, today Not Optional has released the latest country rankings with a call for pan-European alignment on stock options and startup policies 👇 🙏 Thank you to the Not Optional's many supporters over the years including Jean-Charles Samuelian-Werve at Alan, John Collison at Stripe, Hanno Renner at Personio, Ilkka Paananen at Supercell, Eléonore Crespo at Pigment, Sebastian Siemiatkowski at Klarna, Nicolas Brusson at BlaBlaCar, Daniel Dines at UiPath, Taavet Hinrikus at Wise, Martin Mignot and Neil Rimer at Index Ventures, Andrei Brasoveanu at Accel, Bernard Liautaud at Balderton Capital, Niklas Zennström at Atomico, Saul Klein and Suzanne Ashman Blair at LocalGlobe, Ophelia Brown at Blossom Capital, Gloria Baeuerlein at Puzzle Ventures, Reshma Sohoni and Tom Wilson at Seedcamp, Staffan Helgesson and Fredrik Cassel  at Creandum, The EU Inc Petition and hundreds of others who signed letters, joined meetings with policymakers and pushed for better stock option policies locally and at EU level. notoptional.eu #notoptional