Forming the company is the easy part
Filing a certificate of incorporation in Delaware takes minutes and costs very little. What actually determines whether your company is investable is everything that happens in the two weeks after, and the order it happens in.
Order matters
Form the company, then issue founder stock, then file 83(b) within 30 days. Get the sequence wrong and you are either fixing it later at cost, or you have permanently lost something.
Cheap now is expensive later
The gaps a formation tool leaves behind, unsigned IP assignments, no board consents, a cap table that does not tie out, are the exact items an investor's diligence team lists before your first term sheet.
Some doors close
The 83(b) window is 30 days with no extension. QSBS qualification is set at issuance. Neither can be reopened once missed.
What is in the package
What it costs and how long it takes
Fees are fixed and quoted before any work begins. If your situation is unusual, founders in several countries, contributed patents, an existing entity to unwind, we quote the whole scope as one number rather than opening a meter.
Formation and founder equity package
from $2,900
Everything listed above for a standard two or three founder company.
Equity incentive plan and option pool setup
from $3,500
Added at formation, or deferred to your seed round if that serves you better.
Advisor agreements
from $750
FAST-style, including credit for time already contributed.
Turnaround
Confirmed in your quote
Your timeline is quoted with your fee, and we sequence the filings so your 83(b) window is never the thing that slips. Tell us if you are working to a tighter date.
Questions founders ask
Do you defer or cap fees until our seed round closes?
Ask us. For companies with a credible near term raise we can often structure the engagement so the bulk lands after the round rather than before it. It is a conversation, not a published policy, and the answer depends on where you are.
Can you handle IP assignment for contributed patents?
We handle the assignment documents and the clean chain of title into the company. For patent prosecution and USPTO recordation we coordinate with your patent counsel, or introduce you to counsel if you do not have any.
None of our founders are in the US. Can we still do this?
Yes, and it is common. It affects EIN timing, IP assignment drafting, and how vesting should treat immigration or residency problems. It does not stop you incorporating in Delaware.
We already incorporated through a formation tool. Do we start over?
Almost never. Usually it is a cleanup: issue the stock properly, get the IP assigned, produce the consents that were never signed, and see whether the 83(b) window is still open. Cheaper than a fresh start and quicker than you expect.
Delaware or somewhere else?
If you intend to raise from US venture investors, Delaware, because that is what their documents assume. If you are bootstrapping a local services business, the honest answer may be different, and we will say so.
