
Ask HN: Carta (eShares) for equity compensation, any experience with them? - jeffrese
I have a self funded, profitable business and my first hire, who is also a key hire asked for a co-founder title and equity. The advice I&#x27;ve received on how much equity ranges from 3% to 30%.<p>A VC friend suggested I create a 409a to come up with a valuation and then I can back into a number for equity. Carta seems to offer this as well as many other useful features for a company that does plan to raise capital.<p>Any experience with them or any suggestions for a competitor? Bonus for your opinion on how much equity I should give and should I give that title.
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YuriNiyazov
I don't know anything specifically about eShares, but I do know this: in
regular startups, the purpose of a 409a is to set the strike price of the
options for common equity that you give to employees. Companies have an
interest to have that number come out as low as possible so that employees can
afford the options and don't get snagged by AMT.

Since that's the interest, a lot of firms that provide 409a valuations have
learned to generate the lowest defensible share price. That might not align
with your current objective, since you aren't trying to generate the lowest
possible price, but a (presumably) fair price that both you and your key hire
would agree to. This would be something that would be worth discussing with
both the 409a valuation company and your key hire

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jeffrese
Carta charges $2k for up to ten people for one year. That includes the 409a
valuation plus a bunch of other reporting and management features. Does that
sound like a good price to you?

[https://www.carta.com/](https://www.carta.com/)

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YuriNiyazov
That's about right

