How to reward your colleagues as a start-up

Incentivising your colleagues

As a startup founder I’m always on the lookout for the best talent in town (nowadays these ‘towns’ actually spread halfway around the world), sourcing them through our network, and using our recruiters. Obviously we offer these colleagues a great place to work (exciting challenges, great colleagues, good pay etc.).

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”Thanks for being on my side while building this venture, therefore let’s share the profits” - David de Jong Co-Founder & CEO VonWood

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Monthly pay-check

Something that I’ve always had difficulties with (I’m operating my fourth Dutch based start-up now) is deciding how to show appreciation to my colleagues input not just through their pay-check, but also through another method.

Pay-checks are just short term signs of appreciation (”Thanks for giving your best this month”), however implementing some type of longer term scheme is a great way to attract and retain top talent (”Thanks for being on my side while building this venture, therefore let’s share the profits”).

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So what are the options?

There are so many flavours - especially in startup-riddled countries like the Netherlands - each with their own pros and cons, that we typically just default back to SAR (phantom stock) or some form of certificates (through a STAK). Once we have made this decision, the task of explaining all the technicalities to our new hires takes away most oxygen from any room.

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That’s why we have teamed up with our friends at BVDV, and challenged them to come up with a clear and concise overview that every startup founder in the Netherlands can use to decide on what plan to implement (ranging from SAR to STAK, and from stock-options to plain old bonuses).

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Download this handy leaflet that explains each flavour, and provides clear guidelines on how to communicate them with your team.

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As with all legal stuff, don’t take my word for it, but ask a real lawyer for additional insights before making any decision.