Startup stock options: how they work and how to set up a plan
Your first key hires make a real difference to your startup’s trajectory. But your salary budget at the early stag...
If you’re thinking about building a team for your startup, congratulations! Making it to this moment is a major milestone.
We know it’s not just filling a role. Finding the people who get the vision, who bring something you don’t have, who can take what you started and help turn it into what you actually pictured when this whole thing was still just an idea. It’s one of the best milestones in the founder journey, and it deserves to feel like one, not get buried under admin.
So we built the boring part to give you more room to focus on what matters. Now, you can set up and track your stock options plan seamlessly on SeedLegals, in just a few clicks.
Max CoglinFounders kept telling us that granting options meant juggling a lawyer, a valuation firm, and a spreadsheet, and worrying they’d get something wrong. Or if they opt for a platform, they can find fees rising every year when they increase headcount. So we built it as one flow with a fixed price: plan, valuation grants, and tracking. Your cap table updates automatically in the background when options are exercised, so you’re not left wondering whether everything still matches up. Plus, our team is always here to help whenever you need it.
Head of GTM,
Set up an Equity Incentive Plan in one workflow. Your EIP is the foundation. It sets the total pool of options you’re allowed to grant and the rules that govern every grant that follows.
Get your 409A valuation
We bundle in an independent 409A valuation through our partner, so your strike price is set at fair market value, and you have one less thing on your to-do list.
Create your grants
Choose ISO or NSO for each option holder, then create your grants as a batch. We’ll handle the board consent and generate all your individual grant documents.
Track everything as it happens. As your team vests and exercises their options, it’s all reflected in your option holder table automatically, and as options are exercised and become stock, your cap table is automatically updated too.
Make a competitive offer, even when cash is tight.
You might not be able to match a big company’s salary yet. Equity lets you offer something they can’t: a real stake in what you’re building.
Give your team a reason to stay.
With a standard vesting schedule, your team earns their options over time, so the people who help you build are the ones who share in the outcome.
Grant to everyone who’s helping you build.
ISOs for your US employees, NSOs for advisors, contractors, and non-US team members, all from the same plan.
Making your first grants?
Start with your Equity Incentive Plan. Once it’s in place, every grant you make just needs to fit within it.
Already have a plan set up elsewhere?
If you’ve got an existing EIP or grants from a lawyer or another platform, we can bring them across so everything’s tracked in one place going forward.
Just closed a round?
A new round usually means your existing 409A no longer reflects a fair strike price. We can get you a discounted price on your next valuation through our 409A partner.
Want to see how it works? Book a free demo with our team below. Or sign up for a 7-day free trial and get started right now.
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