Launch your startup the right way
The essentials you need to get your business off the ground, including limited company incorporation, founder prenups and legal document templates.
Manage your cap table, issue shares and file documents at Companies House, all via the UK's most advanced equity management platform.
Launch
£50 / mo (+VAT)
Key features:
- Company incorporation (if required)
- Two free equity consultations (30 minutes each)
- How to maximise value from your equity
- How to set up conditional equity
- Cap table audit
- Agile Partnerships (conditional equity) for zero value startups*
- Issue conditional shares for up to 25 recipients
- Recipient dashboards to visualise future value
- Full Companies House integration
- Cap table management
- Shareholder dashboards to visualise future value
- Issue shares and share certificates
- Stock transfers
- Scenario modelling
- Free business document templates
- Adopt Vestd standard articles of association
- Appoint and remove directors, manage PSCs, submit confirmation statements
*< 50k net assets | < 100k annual rev | No investment
**A one-off fee will apply
Frequently asked questions
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Why incorporate as a UK private company limited by shares?
Incorporating as a limited company separates the individual from the business and provides limited liability protection. This means any debts owed are owed by the company and not the individual. It also provides a means for attracting investment as money or time can be exchanged for shares.
The UK is home to a number of extremely tax-advantaged investment schemes including SEIS and EIS, which makes investing in private companies limited by shares particularly attractive. The UK tax regime also means that operating a limited company can be a more tax-efficient way to draw an income than as a sole trader or partnership.
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What is nominal value and why is it important?
At the time of incorporation, the directors must determine the nominal value of each share, which the shareholder must pay the company.
The initial capital in the company is simply the number of shares multiplied by the nominal value of each share. A high nominal value means founders must put a large amount of capital into the company.
As time progresses and more shares are issued, they’ll have the same nominal value but may be issued at a premium to that, reflecting an increase in the overall value of the company.
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When is the right time to incorporate?
There are 2 key factors that come into play when deciding when to start your business. Firstly, is it the right time for you, as an individual, and secondly, is it the right time for your product or service to be unleashed onto the market?
- Do you have enough time and resources to take on the risk?
- Are you driven by your business idea to get it off the ground?
- Do you have the skills, experience, and network it would take to be successful?
- Could you benefit from gaining more experience before taking the leap?
- Is it the right time for your product or service to be unleashed onto the market?
- What’s the competition and market like?
- How developed is your product or service?
- How will your industry develop and change over the next few years?
- Are you entering a growing market, what’s the potential for expansion?
If you’ve thought through all the above, there’s no time like the present to get started.
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What is shareholder dilution and should I be worried about it?
Shares are diluted when a company issues new shares, reducing the ownership percentage of existing ones, or ‘diluting’ them. However, this needn’t be a bad thing. New shares are typically issued in return for investment or to give team members ‘skin in the game’.
Both are likely to result in the value of the company increasing and surely owning a smaller percentage of a bigger pie has to be better than owning all of something far lesser.