Clerky is YC-backed startup corporate automation — incorporation, equity, board consents, and 83(b) elections without the $5K attorney bill. Fills the gap between DIY incorporation (LegalZoom) and full-service startup law (Cooley, WSGR).
Company Info
- Founded: 2011
- Team size: 11-50 employees
- Funding: $120K
- HQ: United States
- Sector: Startups
What We Haven’t Verified
This page was assembled from publicly available information. Feature claims and workflow mappings are based on what the vendor and third-party listings publish — not hands-on testing or practitioner feedback.
Workflows
Based on practitioner evidence, Clerky is used in these workflows:
What practitioners struggle with
Real frustrations from legal professionals — the problems Clerky addresses (or should address). Sourced from practitioner reviews, Reddit threads, and case studies.
NDAs and routine contracts take 3-7 days because every single one routes through legal — no self-service for standard terms
Post-incorporation corporate housekeeping costs $500-2,000 per task through an attorney — board consents, stock certificates, 83(b) elections, option grants are all templated documents with variable fields that shouldn't require a lawyer every time
Early-stage startup tracks equity in a spreadsheet — discovers it's wrong when trying to raise Series A, and Carta costs $10K+/year. No affordable cap table tool exists between spreadsheet chaos and enterprise equity management
Where it fits in your workflow
Before Clerky
Founder decides to incorporate → chooses Delaware C-Corp (standard for VC-backed) → uses Clerky to file incorporation documents with registered agent
After Clerky
Corporation formed → initial board consent → stock issuance → 83(b) elections filed with IRS → option grants documented → cap table maintained → subsequent board consents/actions as needed → Series A due diligence pulls all docs from Clerky
Integrations & hand-offs
Clerky → Delaware Secretary of State (incorporation filing). Clerky → IRS (83(b) election mailing). Clerky → VC/counsel (due diligence document room). Clerky → Carta/Pulley (cap table migration when portfolio grows). Clerky → outside counsel (complex corporate actions beyond templates).
Also used by similar teams
Community Data
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