Lime, the world’s largest shared electric vehicle company, has always been forward-thinking about the benefits they introduce their employees. When it came to equity, they saw an opportunity to help employees find clarity in what can often be a very opaque space. 

“Equity can be daunting at all levels. We wanted to give people the tools and information they needed to better understand their overall compensation and how equity could play a role in it,” said Mallory Johnson, Senior HR Business Partner at Lime. 

It can often be challenging for startup employees to understand equity, how it impacts their personal finances, and how to optimize for taxes. Companies spend millions of dollars a year on their equity and compensation programs. Employees tend to undervalue the potential value. And while there can be tremendous upside for employees with equity compensation, the decisions that are made before the stock is liquid are critical for the long-term value of what that equity is worth.

Through the Addition platform, Lime employees get free access to financial advisors and digital tools that enable them to scenario plan different outcomes for their equity, community events and group sessions with peers held for their employees on their specific equity plan, and content on the topics they care the most about. 

“The ability to speak with a financial advisor is just so cool. The feedback on the quality of the sessions has been great. People aren’t sure what to expect, and it’s been awesome to hear that they are getting the support they need to feel better about their finances,” explained Johnson. 

In addition to free, unlimited access to advisors, employees also are able to leverage tools to better understand the value of their equity, what it could be worth, and how to think about exercising. Through the platform, which is pre-populated with the fair market value (409a) and preferred price (what investors paid in the last round), employees can then toggle between different growth potentials to see what the equity could be worth in the future.

Lime views Addition Wealth as an extension of their team. From Professional Development Days with sessions on relevant financial topics to referring employees who are looking for help with things like assessing their pre-tax benefits and saving for retirement, Addition is able to support Lime employees in many different ways. 

“From the start, I feel like Addition has gone above and beyond and truly wants employees to get value out of the program,” said Johnson. “I love their passion and so appreciate how much the team has helped make sure the program succeeds at every step and is making a difference in the lives of our employees.”