This Startup Just Rewarded Its Team with Crores—Before Hitting Series A! In a bold move that’s turning heads across the Indian startup scene, Univest, a rising fintech player
In a bold move that’s turning heads across the Indian startup scene, Univest, a rising fintech player founded in 2022, has just completed its first-ever ESOP buyback worth ₹1.61 crore.
That’s right—before even reaching its Series A funding stage, Univest is already sharing the wealth with its early team members. And that says a LOT about where this startup is heading.
Univest, a broking and investment platform, has officially closed a buyback of Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs), offering financial rewards to employees who joined during the earliest days of the company.
This isn’t just lip service to culture—real money changed hands. Employees across product, tech, marketing, and support teams got the chance to cash in part of their equity and walk away with tangible returns.
At a time when many startups are tightening belts, Univest is giving back to its team.
The buyback was targeted at employees who joined during Univest’s seed and pre-Series A stages, when the company was still finding its feet.
These are the people who took early risks, wore multiple hats, built features from scratch, and handled users when systems were barely stable. Now, they’re being rewarded for that grind.
Think of it as a “thank you” with zeros attached.
ESOP buybacks are typically seen in well-funded startups, often after a Series B or beyond. For Univest to initiate one this early is a clear signal—they’re growing fast and planning smart.
Startups often talk about culture and long-term incentives. Univest just proved it. That kind of action builds loyalty and makes talent think twice before jumping ship.
In a competitive fintech market, showing that you reward early believers with real money is like putting up a giant billboard that says:
“Join us. We take care of our own.”
Founded in 2022, Univest is a new-age broking platform offering tools for investment, trading, and financial growth. While still early in its journey, the company has already gained traction by focusing on user-friendly design, intelligent analytics, and democratizing access to financial markets.
And now, with this buyback move, it’s also staking a claim as one of the most employee-first startups in Indian fintech.
This ESOP buyback isn’t just about celebrating past work—it’s a strategic move to lock in top-tier talent.
With fintech heating up and competitors poaching aggressively, Univest is ensuring that their best minds don’t go anywhere. This aligns with a broader trend where startups use equity liquidity not just as a reward—but as retention fuel.
According to the founding team, this buyback is “part of a long-term plan to align incentives with growth”—which is startup-speak for: Stick with us. The best is yet to come.
In the past few years, Indian startups have increasingly embraced ESOPs as a core part of their compensation strategy. But what really matters to employees isn’t the promise of equity—it’s liquidity.
With Univest already delivering on that promise, it sets a powerful precedent for other early-stage startups: reward your believers, and they’ll help you build an empire.
Univest’s ₹1.61 crore ESOP buyback may not seem like a massive headline compared to billion-dollar rounds, but for India’s startup ecosystem, it’s a loud message:
Univest just showed what a modern, talent-driven fintech company should look like. If they keep this momentum, this won’t be the last time they’re in the spotlight.
