Necessity is the mother of invention, but it is often a crisis that gives birth to necessity.
When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, nations all over the world went into lockdown. Billions of people were forced to stay at home in order to contain the spread of the virus. The global economy took a hit due to the significant decrease in consumption and spending with people no longer going out. As a result, businesses closed down and in June 2020 alone, an estimated 7.7 million workers lost their jobs.
Industries reliant on tourism, recreation, and anything dependent upon travel and movement were badly hit. Pretty much everyone was undoubtedly affected. Unfortunately, the crisis has shown little signs of slowing down as more contagious and serious variants of the virus are being discovered.
COVID and the demand for remote alternatives
Business operations, however, still had to continue and companies have needed to adapt by shifting towards online and remote solutions. Restaurants that previously did not have takeout or delivery services were forced to adopt one. Others began to partner with food delivery apps and companies to make their food products available to a wider customer base.
Even sectors that seem to be somewhat immune to or relatively unaffected by the pandemic had to implement changes one way or another.
One of these seemingly pandemic-resilient sectors is the legal industry which, despite not being badly affected by the lockdowns and movement restrictions, still began moving towards remote and online solutions.
Digital transformation and optimization of the legal industry
As the virus rages on, electronic filings and online court hearings and proceedings have become the norm for lawyers and judges. But even before the pandemic, digital transformation and optimization have been taking place in the legal industry, with its main goals geared towards increasing the efficiency of performing and rendering legal work and services.
Standardized legal agreements, for example, have long been utilized in the startup space.
The global pandemic merely hastened this transformative process. As the demand for accessible, more efficient, and optimized legal services has increased, the industry has had to cope with this growing need. Whether it is matching lawyers with potential clients, or providing legal document templates, or online consultations, the legal sector has been evolving with the times by utilizing technology.
Upstock: an online legal solution for equity compensation
Equity compensation is an area in the legal industry that we believe is ripe for disruption. Traditional equity plans are often criticized as being too complicated and ineffective. Our goal is simple: provide companies with a simple, inexpensive, and convenient way to incentivize their workers and employees.
We wanted to make workers feel that equity is more than just a bunch of legal jargon on a stack of papers. In order to do this, the old ways of doing things had to change.
This desire, coupled with the ongoing shift towards remote and online legal solutions, led us to build Upstock with the following relevant features:
- Vetted legal documents and contracts. We work with international attorneys specializing in equity to craft our standardized equity plans. Our legal documents and contracts have been vetted by legal experts in different jurisdictions to make them viable for use in 70+ countries.
- Adoption of legal innovation. Like Facebook and other tech giants, we are taking advantage of the unique and innovative features of restricted stock units (RSUs) with double-trigger vesting to address common problems with equity-based compensation: illiquidity and taxation.
- Motivational dashboard. Our app features a visual dashboard that enables workers to understand how much their equity is currently worth. The dashboard visualizes equity in terms of its equivalent monetary value to help motivate workers to do their best in helping the company (and watching the value of their equity) grow.
- Remote signing. The signing of our standardized equity agreements can be done quickly and remotely so that companies can start issuing equity in a matter of minutes.
As we enter a post-COVID world, the demand for creative technological solutions has only intensified. Upstock’s mission is to lead the charge in democratizing wealth and fostering participative capitalism, through simple yet technologically innovative equity plans.
If this is something you also believe in, getting the right equity plan in place at your company can help ensure your company’s long-term success and increase your team’s overall motivation and happiness. At Upstock, we can help you formulate the appropriate equity solution for most situations. We are eager to help, so let us know by reaching out!
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