ESO Fund
ESO Fund is a private alternative-investment firm that provides non-recourse funding to employees at venture-backed startups so they can exercise stock options, pay AMT, or access share/RSU liquidity without personal financial risk, retaining upside only at IPO or acquisition.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2012
- HeadquartersSan Mateo, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What ESO Fund does
ESO Fund is a San Mateo, California-based private alternative-investment firm founded in 2012 by Scott Chou, Stephen Roberts, and Jimmy Lackie that provides non-recourse funding to employees of venture-backed companies so they can exercise stock options, pay related taxes (including AMT), or access liquidity on already-vested shares and RSUs without personal financial risk. The core product is a 100% non-recourse loan: if the underlying company fails to reach a liquidity event (IPO or acquisition), the employee owes nothing; if it does, ESO Fund recovers its principal plus a pre-negotiated share of equity upside. The firm supplements this with Share Liquidity and RSU Liquidity products, a free AMT Calculator, and an ESO Portal self-service workflow that closes most transactions within 1-2 weeks. Underlying infrastructure consists of a flexible due diligence and transaction protocol for rapid underwriting of individual option-exercise requests, an investor portal at esofund.arkpes.com for LPs, and a 3-step consultative sales process delivered by an inside team of ESO Partners via Calendly, DocuSign, and Zoom.
The business model is transaction-based with outcome-dependent returns rather than interest or fees. ESO Fund raises dedicated private-equity-style funds from limited partners — five funds totaling $500 million cumulatively, with Fund V raising an oversubscribed $200 million in June 2022 — and deploys that capital into individual non-recourse employee financings of up to $3 million. Go-to-market is direct-to-consumer targeting individual startup employees rather than enterprise procurement: content marketing (50+ blog articles on stock options, AMT, and liquidity), SEO around option-exercise and AMT queries, a monthly newsletter, LinkedIn/Twitter presence, referral channels, and executive-recruiter partnerships. The customer base spans 700+ venture-backed companies including DoorDash, Coinbase, Snowflake, Airbnb, Palantir, Robinhood, Unity, Affirm, Segment, Reddit, Instacart, Klaviyo, Roblox, Slack, Squarespace, and Credit Karma. Service is available to US residents and, on a case-by-case basis, Canadian residents; other international geographies are explicitly restricted.
ESO Fund firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- ESO Fund
- Legal name
- ESO Management Services, LLC
- Website
- https://esofund.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2012
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- ESO Fund is a private alternative-investment firm that provides non-recourse funding to employees at venture-backed startups so they can exercise stock options, pay AMT, or access share/RSU liquidity without personal financial risk, retaining upside only at IPO or acquisition.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where ESO Fund is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Mateo
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
ESO Fund business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others
Revenue model
- Equity Funding Revenue: ESO Fund provides non-recourse funding to cover the cost of exercising stock options and related taxes. Instead of charging interest or fees, they share in a percentage of equity plus money back only if there is a successful exit. The company only succeeds when the employee succeeds - returns are outcome-dependent.
- RSU Liquidity Services: Provides funding for vested RSUs in exchange for a share of upside at exit. Unlike secondary sales, employees retain ownership of their RSUs.
- Share Liquidity Funding: Non-recourse funding against private company shares, providing cash today in exchange for a share of upside only if the company exits successfully.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Customized non-recourse funding based on company, equity grant, and funding amount |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels8 records
ESO Fund product offering
Product offeringCore offering
ESO Fund provides non-recourse funding to employees at venture-backed companies to cover the cost of exercising stock options and associated taxes (including AMT). If the company does not reach a liquidity event (IPO or acquisition), the employee owes nothing. The firm also extends the same non-recourse model to provide liquidity against private company shares and vested RSUs, allowing employees to access cash today while retaining ownership and upside.
Product overview
ESO Fund offers a suite of non-recourse funding products for startup employees to exercise stock options and access equity liquidity. The core offering is Stock Option Exercise Funding, which covers 100% of exercise costs and taxes (including AMT) with no personal liability if the company fails. Share Liquidity and RSU Liquidity extend the same non-recourse model to employees who already own shares or RSUs, providing cash today while retaining ownership. The AMT Calculator is a free tax estimation tool, and the ESO Portal provides a self-service platform for clients to initiate and manage transactions. All products share a common structure: ESO Fund assumes the downside risk, employees retain upside potential, and repayment occurs only at successful liquidity events.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Stock Option Exercise Funding Non-recourse funding that covers the full cost of exercising stock options and associated taxes including AMT for employees at venture-backed startups. If the company does not reach a liquidity event such as an IPO or acquisition, the employee owes nothing. Used by startup employees facing 90-day expiration windows when leaving a company, AMT tax burdens, or the desire to early-exercise to start the long-term capital gains clock.
- Share Liquidity Non-recourse funding against private company shares, providing employees cash today in exchange for a share of upside only if the company exits successfully. Employees retain ownership of their shares while accessing liquidity for purposes such as home purchases, college savings, or diversification without giving up future upside.
- RSU Liquidity Pre-IPO liquidity solution for vested Restricted Stock Units (RSUs), allowing employees to access cash without waiting for an IPO while retaining future growth potential. Unlike secondary sales, employees retain ownership of their RSUs, with repayment to ESO Fund occurring only at successful liquidity events.
Quantifiable outcome
- Over $2 billion in wealth created for clients since 2012
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use ESO Fund
Customer profileNamed customers16 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
ESO Fund technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
ESO Fund partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Customer Companies (Dozens of Unicorns)coreESO Fund serves employees at over 700 venture-backed companies including DoorDash, Coinbase, Snowflake, Airbnb, Palantir, Robinhood, Unity, Affirm, Segment, Reddit, Instacart, Klaviyo, Roblox, Slack, Squarespace, and Credit Karma. These are customers of the service, not formal partners.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves9 records
Expansion highlights5 records
ESO Fund competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Forge Global: Forge is a leading institutional secondary marketplace for private company shares and is expanding into employee liquidity solutions. While broader in scope than ESO Fund, it overlaps on pre-IPO share liquidity and competes for the same underlying customer base.
- Carta: Carta is the dominant cap-table management platform for venture-backed companies and has been expanding into liquidity and equity planning services. While primarily a software/recordkeeping platform, its liquidity products place it in adjacent competition with ESO Fund.
- SharesPost: SharesPost runs a private company secondary market, providing liquidity for employees and early investors. It addresses an adjacent need to ESO Fund's share liquidity product, though SharesPost focuses on secondary trading rather than non-recourse funding.
- Nasdaq Private Market: Nasdaq Private Market provides technology and services for private company secondary transactions, including tender offers and employee liquidity programs. It competes with ESO Fund on the share and RSU liquidity products as part of a broader capital-markets infrastructure offering.
- EquityZen: EquityZen operates a private company secondary marketplace offering employees liquidity for vested shares. It overlaps with ESO Fund's Share Liquidity product on pre-IPO share monetization, though it serves investors on the buy side rather than funding employees directly.
Direct peers
- Equitybee: Equitybee provides non-recourse funding for startup employees to exercise stock options by syndicating capital from a community of individual investors. It directly competes with ESO Fund on the same exercise-and-AMT pain point with a marketplace-style alternative.
- Hiive: Hiive operates a private company secondary marketplace where employees can sell vested shares, providing an alternative liquidity path to ESO Fund's share and RSU liquidity offerings. It addresses the same pre-IPO liquidity need with a different transaction model.
- Secfi: Secfi is one of the closest direct competitors to ESO Fund, offering non-recourse stock option exercise funding and pre-IPO liquidity to startup employees. The two firms compete head-to-head on the same customers (venture-backed employees) with structurally similar funding products.
- Tang: Tang offers stock option exercise, RSU, and tender offer financing to startup employees with a non-recourse structure, directly overlapping ESO Fund's product set across exercise funding and pre-IPO liquidity.
Others
- Kaiser Associates: Kaiser Associates operates in the broader alternative investment / employee equity advisory space, providing services adjacent to ESO Fund's offerings. It is included here as an ecosystem participant rather than a direct funder of option exercises.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
ESO Fund social profiles
Digital presenceESO Fund financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
ESO Fund leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
ESO Fund funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
ESO Fund M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about ESO Fund
What does ESO Fund do?
ESO Fund provides non-recourse funding to employees at venture-backed companies to cover the cost of exercising stock options and associated taxes (including AMT). If the company does not reach a liquidity event (IPO or acquisition), the employee owes nothing. The firm also extends the same non-recourse model to provide liquidity against private company shares and vested RSUs, allowing employees to access cash today while retaining ownership and upside.
Is ESO Fund a public or private company?
ESO Fund is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was ESO Fund founded?
ESO Fund was founded in 2012. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is ESO Fund based?
ESO Fund is headquartered in San Mateo, United States, in the North America region.
How does ESO Fund make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Equity Funding Revenue is the primary driver. The others are RSU Liquidity Services and share Liquidity Funding.
Who are ESO Fund's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Forge Global, Carta, SharesPost, Nasdaq Private Market and EquityZen. Direct peers are Equitybee, Hiive, Secfi and Tang. Kaiser Associates is listed as an others.
Does ESO Fund have an API?
No public API is recorded for ESO Fund.