Keeping Employees Interested – Profits Interests, their Potential Business Benefits and Caveat

One of the first and most important tax-driven decisions a founder must make is the type of entity in which to house his or her venture. Though much ink has been spilled over the pros and cons of choosing a corporation versus a limited liability company, or LLC, one thing is certain: most folks understand corporations better than LLCs. And who could blame them? LLCs can be complicated entities – so flexible that they often seem downright weird. As a result, even when a founder decides that an LLC is the right fit, it is often structured to look as much like a corporation as possible. We denote membership interest as stock-like units, we view boards of managers simply as directors by another name, and yes, we sometimes even issue options to employees. Equity compensation strategies in the world of the LLC, however, can be much thornier propositions than they are for the humble corporation.    Click here to read full article.