Let experts handle your 409A so you can focus on building your company.
Pulley’s in-house valuation team will conduct a thorough analysis of your business and provide an accurate assessment in compliance with IRS, AICPA and SEC standards. You also get free lifetime audit review support.
Save valuable audit preparation time with an up-to-date cap table.
Pulley’s turnaround time for 409A valuations is just three days—not weeks. Pulley keeps your cap table accurate and up to date, so when it’s time for a 409A, the valuation team has everything they need to move quickly.
Pulley
Low-cost valuation firms
409A valuation in 3 days
409A valuation in 2-4 weeks
Accurate, defensible share prices
Risk of overvalued shares
Reports reviewed by senior staff
Automated reports
Analysts with 5+ years of experience
Analysts with <1 years of experience
Who needs a 409A valuation?
Any company issuing stock options is required to get a 409A valuation. This includes most startups that grant options as part of employee comp.
When you grant stock options to employees, you need a value to determine the value of these shares. For public companies, this is the stock price. For private companies, an independent 409A valuation provider is the only method to grant options on a tax-free basis to your employees.
How often do I need a 409A valuation?
You need a 409A valuation at least once every 12 months or whenever a material event affects your company’s valuation. Material events include:
Regular 409A valuations ensure compliance with IRS safe harbor rules and help you grant stock options at a fair market value without tax penalties.
How does a 409A valuation impact financial reporting and IPO readiness?
Accurate 409A valuations support compliant financial reporting, including ASC 718 and deferred compensation disclosures. They also ensure your cap table is clean and defensible—essential for due diligence ahead of a potential IPO or acquisition.
How long does the process take?
We do valuations in less than half the time of most firms. It takes just a few business days to get to a final draft of your 409A valuation for review. For later-stage companies, the timeline may be a little longer.
Once you have your report, you can review the valuation for accuracy. You can connect with our valuation experts at any time during this process.
How does a 409A valuation work?
At a high level, there are three steps in a 409A valuation:
What will the process be like on Pulley?
Once you request your 409A valuation on Pulley and submit the required information, a valuation expert will reach out if they need additional information or context.
Within one week, you will receive an initial draft of your 409A valuation and will have an opportunity to provide feedback.
What makes a 409A valuation compliant with IRS regulations?
A 409A valuation must follow strict IRS regulations outlined in Section 409A of the IRC (Internal Revenue Code). Pulley's reports meet all compliance standards and are built to stand up to audit scrutiny—ensuring your equity compensation program remains tax-advantaged and penalty-free.
What are the risks of non-compliance?
There can be severe financial consequences for your employees for non-compliance. If the IRS determines your 409A valuation does not meet standards, all the shares you granted to employees at that value would be subject to gross income tax. The IRS can also levy up to a 20% penalty on stock options on top of the back-tax.
While enforcements are rare, the IRS has successfully pursued cases in the past (See Credit Karma).
Pulley’s team of valuation experts will ensure that your 409A is fully compliant and shares are valued at accurate, defensible prices.
Equity management becomes exponentially complex as you scale. We chose Pulley because they turned that complexity into simplicity – letting us focus on building our product, not managing our cap table.
Karri Saarinen
CEO at Linear
Having a source of truth for token distribution is by far the most beneficial part of using Pulley. It's easy to understand when tokens are vesting when they are being distributed, who has received or exercised options, and who hasn’t. Highly recommended for anyone in the crypto space.
Ari Litan
Advisor and Former COO at LayerZero
I absolutely love Pulley and recommend it to every client! The pro forma modeling tool can save a startup thousands by making it easy to quickly and effectively model how each SAFE or convertible note impacts the cap table. Pulley has become an essential part of any pre-Series A financing.
Kelly Boyd
Attorney at Montgomery Pacific
Pulley has proven to be a valuable partner in streamlining and managing our token operations on a single platform. Their outstanding customer support also made the transition extremely easy for our team.
Sr. Corporate Paralegal & Equity
Token Administrator at Mysten Labs
We are wrapping up our financial audit. The stock based comp reporting was a snap with Pulley!
Kent Toy
VP of Finance
Pulley was promoting their service with a simpler/faster onboarding process and I can confirm that it was really smooth. The rep was friendly and walked me through the process. We had every feature in Pulley we needed thus far (at seed stage, with a sizable team). The interface is simple, good UX, etc.
Balázs Scheidler
CEO at Axoflow
“I like the fact that we can use our own documents, especially for options. Combine that and other features with the competitive pricing and you have a win.”
Tim Gutwald
General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer
Startup
25 stakeholders included.
Above 25? Contact us
Growth
40 stakeholders included.
Above 40? Contact us
Scale
Tailored solutions to fit your company’s equity needs.
*A stakeholder is an individual person who holds an ownership stake in your company. Angel investors writing checks for $50,000 or less count as half a stakeholder. Why? Because starting a company is hard, and we want to help.
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