The Founder's Stack: A Guide to Essential Startup Service Providers
Your choice of banking, legal, and finance partners is a strategic decision that impacts speed and fundraising. This guide covers the default stack for serious founders, from incorporation to your Series A.
TL;DR: This guide outlines the essential service provider stack for high-growth startups, covering legal, banking, finance, and key software. It emphasizes using standardized tools like Delaware C-Corps and platforms like Clerky for formation, building banking redundancy post-SVB with providers like Mercury and Brex, and scaling from self-serve legal to top-tier law firms for priced rounds. The key is to use the right tool for the right stage to conserve cash and focus on building the business.
Key takeaways
- Incorporate as a Delaware C-Corp using Stripe Atlas or Clerky. It's the only choice for a venture-backed company.
- Open a second business bank account immediately. Never keep all your cash with a single provider.
- Use a cap table platform like Carta or Pulley from day one. Spreadsheets are a recipe for disaster.
- Hire expensive, specialized startup lawyers only for complex events like a priced round or M&A.
- Your first pitch deck is a story, not a design project. Nail the narrative in Google Docs before you hire a designer.
- Don't hire "fundraising advisors" who charge upfront fees. The best introductions come from your existing network.
The Only Two Jobs
You have two jobs as a founder: build a product people want and convince people to give you money to keep doing it. Everything else is a distraction.
A high-performance "founder stack" is the operational infrastructure that automates the rest. The right stack of service providers—for banking, legal, and finance—fades into the background and lets you focus. The wrong stack will burn your time, your money, and your focus, creating problems that surface at the worst possible moment: in the middle of a fundraise.
This is the default stack for a serious, venture-backed startup.
Phase 1: Formation & Pre-Seed
Legal Structure: The Only Right Answer
If you plan to raise money from US-based VCs, this is not a choice. You must be a Delaware C-Corporation. Period. Investors require it for its standardized legal framework, its flexibility for issuing preferred stock, and its eligibility for Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS) — a critical tax incentive that can save you and your early investors millions on a future exit.
Common Mistake: Forming an LLC or S-Corp to "save on taxes." This is catastrophic for a venture-track company. While it might save a few dollars in the first year, it signals you aren't serious to investors. The legal and accounting fees to convert an LLC to a C-Corp before a financing round will cost you
0,000 to
0,000 and can create significant tax liabilities for the founders. Don't be clever. Be standard. Incorporation: Platform vs. Lawyer
You have two paths to become a Delaware C-Corp. Choose the one that matches your complexity.
- Platforms (The Default): For a flat fee of around $500, services like Stripe Atlas or Clerky provide everything you need: standard incorporation documents, a registered agent in Delaware, an EIN, and board consents to get started. They are fast, cheap, and produce VC-approved, standard paperwork. This is the right choice for 90% of pre-seed startups.
- Startup Law Firms: If your situation is truly unique—you have complex IP being licensed from a university, international founders navigating tax treaties, or a messy pre-existing cap table—you need a real lawyer. Use a specialist firm, not your cousin who does real estate law.
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