Simply stated, an ESOP, or employee stock ownership plan, is a qualified defined-contribution benefit plan comprised of company stock, held by shareholders at a company (which is usually all vested employees). For the purposes of this website, however, an ESOP is a way to sell your company to your employees, enabling all employees to become shareholders in the company, and selling shareholders to obtain liquidity.ESOPs are a great way to align the financial incentives and rewards of employees with those of ownership, as all employees will hold shares in theSEE DETAILS