Launching incentive tokens to fix stock option, Salto X earns €5.2 million

A Ukraine and Estonia based platform that allows founders to easily create token pools on the cap table, Somersault X raised a seed round of €5.2 million to build a remote-friendly alternative to stock options in Europe.

The circle was led by From Founders and Block wall and backed by the New York-based Group boxcrypto fintech 3 Commaand angel investors such as Liu Jiang (formerly Sequoia GP) and Alex Gluchkowski (founder of ZkSync).

Connecting the Web2 and Web3 worlds, the platform co-founded by the unicorn founder Pipedrive Ragnar Sass, is building a mechanism that gives transparent access to equity compensation to associates regardless of geography. According to the company, the process is streamlined through blockchain technology. Contributors receive NFT certificates for the crash period, and the smart contract automatically and continuously performs token transfers upon acquisition. Tokens can be redeemed in the event of a full or partial exit or sold to other parties after vesting. This creates much-needed liquidity without the company having to go through an IPO or sale.

CEO Ragnar Sass said: “The current model discriminates against remote workers, which is not acceptable in the remote world. They’re either getting a worse deal than the one offered at corporate headquarters, or they’re getting no equity at all—we’re here to fix that. We offer remote contributors better transparency by showing the value of their stake in the company and increase liquidity by making it possible to sell their tokens back to the company and soon to other contributors.”

Sarah Reive, partner at byFounders said, “Talent today requires a sense of ownership and companies want to incentivize top talent to stay, which is why we’re seeing a rise in widely used employee option programs. However, with companies going global and creating telecommuting practices, it has proven too complicated and expensive for many to implement a regular ESOP.”