What is a vesting schedule?
Vesting refers to a period of time or a milestone that must be met in order for the stakeholder to be able to keep their shares if their service relationship with the company were to end.
At the end of a stakeholder’s relationship with the company, the stakeholder would typically be able to keep their vested shares, but the company is able to “repurchase” the unvested shares at the same price per share that the stakeholder originally paid (this is called the “Repurchase Option”).
Where can I find the vesting schedule and vesting start date for shares in the stock purchase agreement?
Vesting schedules can be found in the Stock Purchase Agreement under the heading "Repurchase Option" or "Vesting Provisions" or other similar heading.
In the example to the left in a Common Stock Purchase Agreement courtesy of Stripe Atlas, the vesting schedule is completed in the Section titled "Repurchase Option: Vesting".
A typical vesting schedule for a single stakeholder outlined below is a “4 year vest with a 1 year cliff”, or “1/48 monthly, 1 year cliff.” After 1 year at the company, 25% of the granted shares vest on the date of the grant and then 1/48th of the granted shares vest each month until all shares are fully vested on the 4th anniversary of the vesting start date.
Document courtesy of Stripe Atlas