Equity

Issuing Equity

Platform Basics

Adding a new share class or security on AngelList Equity is not the equivalent of legally forming a new share class or legally issuing equity. Make sure you've taken the legal steps to create a share class and issue equity before recording them in AngelList Equity.

Navigate to Equity > Configuration > Share Classes and select Add on the top right:

Fill out the form with the necessary information:

How do I add shareholders?

Navigate to Equity > Stakeholders and click on Add. You can choose to add shareholders one at a time or as a bulk upload.

To add one shareholder at a time, select Add Stakeholder and complete the form:

Once the shareholder has been added, you can upload shared documents, preview their dashboard, and send them an invite email.

Navigate to Equity > Securities > Shares and click Add on the top right. You can choose to add one share at a time or add multiple shares via a bulk upload.

Fill out the form with the necessary information and upload the certificate documents at the bottom.

If this is a share certificate that has not yet been issued, click into the share and select Issue (in the grey box). This will invite the shareholder to review and sign their share certificate. The equity admin will be able to countersign, after which point the shares will be active and reflected on the cap table. The share certificate will also be available for view in the shareholder dashboard.

How do I add convertible investment documents?

To upload previously signed SAFEs or other convertible investments, add all your investors as stakeholders (both individuals and entities) then navigate to Equity > Securities > Convertibles.

Fill out the form with the necessary information and upload relevant documents.

For issuing future SAFEs, check out the on-platform SAFE generator.

Employee Stock Options and Grants

You should consult legal counsel before creating an equity plan or an option pool.

If you need an introduction to a trusted attorney, check out an AngelList curated list here. Let them know that AngelList sent you or email us at startups@angellist.com for an introduction.

How do I grant equity awards to employees?

Before you can grant equity awards to employees, you first need to:

Create an equity plan with your lawyer and add it to AngelList.
Ensure that all relevant board consents have been signed by board members.
Ensure that all stakeholders have been added to AngelList.
Configure your grant document templates so that your grant agreements are automatically generated.

For detailed directions on each step, continue reading below.

How do I create and implement an Equity Plan?

To create an Equity Plan, you'll need to work with legal counsel. If you need an introduction to a trusted attorney, check out an AngelList curated list here. Let them know that AngelList sent you or email us at startups@angellist.com for an introduction.

Once your law firm has finished creating your equity plan and the associated share class is configured, you can set up your equity plan in AngelList Equity.

What board consents do I need for an Equity Plan? How can I create or upload them?

If your attorney already created a Board Consent for your Equity Plan, upload the Board Consent by navigating to Legal > Board Consents. You can loop in your legal team or add it by clicking Add > Upload executed consent.

Before creating a Board Consent, make sure you've added relevant board members and employees who will be receiving grants to the platform.

To create a Board Consent, navigate to Legal > Board Consents and click New Board Consent > Generate using template. Fill out the form with necessary information and submit.

To attach exhibits to the consent (such as a 409A valuation), click into the Board Consent, and select Exhibits. Click New and fill out the form with the necessary information.

Once the exhibits have been added, go back to the Overview page and review the remaining action steps. If you selected to have your attorney review before signature, you'll see that as Step 2 before sending e-sign requests to board members. Once invited, board members will get an invite to sign and approve the plan within AngelList.

How do I grant equity from my equity plan?

As a quick reminder, be sure to configure your grant document templates before granting equity from your equity plan.

AngelList Equity enables you to grant options or restricted stock (commonly referred to as "RSAs", short for "Restricted Stock Awards") from your equity plan.

To grant options, navigate to Equity > Securities > Options. Click Add and select Add Equity Award. You can add multiple equity awards by selecting that option in the dropdown.

Fill out the form with the necessary information. Note - each equity award must be linked to a grant document template in order to draft the grant letters/agreements. Do this by selecting Grant status and choosing the appropriate document from the dropdown.

If the grant does not yet have board approval, you'll see that as part of the action items. You won't be able to grant until there is an attached board consent document:

How can I issue certificated stock?

This feature is only available for US companies on AngelList.

To issue certificated stock, first specify the signatories for your company by navigating to Legal > Signatories. Note - signatories must be users with cap table management permissions for your company.

Once you have specified signatories, initiate the issuance on the share page (Equity > Securities > Shares) by selecting the share you'd like to issue, and clicking the Issue button in the grey box.

Confirm the shareholder details and choose "Certificated Stock Issuance" as the issuance method.

This will send an email to the signatories to authorize the share certificate. Once the primary signatory (and if necessary, the secondary signatory) signs, the shareholder will receive an email to accept their share certificate.

What are other options for stock issuance, if I don't want certificated stock?

AngelList offers 3 additional options for issuing stock:

Certificate Free Stock Issuance- this method will notify the holder via email and they will confirm their receipt of a notice of issuance, but they will not receive a digital certificate.
Book Entry Only- this method will not email the holder and will not create a notice of issuance or a digital certificate.
Only Send Invite to Shareholder- this method will not create a notice of issuance, or a certificate, but will invite the holder to access their dashboard where they can view/track their equity.

If you have many share certificates to issue, you can issue them in bulk by selecting multiple and then selecting "Actions".

Advisors

Note: There are many ways to issue equity to advisors. You should work with your counsel to understand how each option differs and what works best for your company.

Granting Options

Before granting options, you need to have previously created an equity plan and option pool.

Once you've added your advisor as a Stakeholder, follow the same steps as outlined in Employee Stock Options and Grants.

Issuing Shares

To perform this step, you need to have previously created a share class and added your advisor to the dashboard. You can then create a share certificate. Note that issuing shares typically is done with a Stock Purchase Agreement or RSA from your plan.

FAST + Restricted Stock Award (RSA)

Many early-stage companies use an agreement like the FAST with their advisors and pair that with an RSA grant. The FAST provides an outline of typical advisor agreement and terms for early-stage companies.

Bulk Actions

Can I bulk upload grants?

AngelList makes it possible for you to bulk upload multiple employee grants in a single go.

First, add the stakeholders:

For option holders, add Service Providers
For share recipients, add Shareholders.

Navigate to Equity > Securities > Equity Awards. Click Add New and select Add Multiple Equity Awards.

Use the template provided or manually enter your data in the table provided.

Can I bulk e-sign grants?

Yes! Check out this detailed guide.

What other bulk actions can I take?

While managing employee grants, you can use a few other bulk actions like generate and delete grants, re-configure e-Sign links, and trigger multiple employee invite emails to reduce the manual effort of making individual changes. Please note that bulk actions cannot be undone.