Australian startups manage equity on . ESOP setup costs $5K-$20K in legal fees. Founders don't know their dilution. Employees don't understand their options. Carta won't build for AU. I did the research. Now I need a co-founder who knows the AU startup ecosystem.
"Our accountant maintains our cap table in a Google Sheet. Every time we do an option grant, it takes 3 weeks and $5K in legal fees. It's 2026."
"ESOP tax rules changed in 2022 but no tool automates the new startup concessions. Every grant is a manual legal exercise that costs more than the options are worth."
"When we raised our Series A, the lawyers had to reconstruct our entire cap table from scratch. Three weeks of back-and-forth because our 'source of truth' was a messy spreadsheet."
"I left my last startup and still don't understand my vested options, the tax implications, or what they're actually worth. Nobody explained it. There's no dashboard."
AU has ~2,500 funded startups vs. 70,000+ in the US. But the addressable market includes ALL private companies, not just VC-backed startups. Plus 200+ VC/PE firms need portfolio management. The market is 10x larger than it looks.
AU tax treatment of options requires a different product. ASIC requirements for share issuance, shareholder registers, and annual returns add AU-specific complexity Carta will never build for.
The tax and regulatory differences make it a genuinely different product. Carta would need to rebuild their entire compliance engine. For a 2,500-startup market? They never will.
Law firms charge $5K-$20K per ESOP setup and $3K-$10K per valuation. They have no incentive to build automation. But they'd become referral partners for a tool that handles the admin while they handle the advice.
Revenue model: Starter at $99/month (cap table + basic ESOP). Growth at $299/month (full ESOP admin + scenario modeling). Enterprise at $999/month (fund admin for VCs). Valuation services at $1,500-$5,000 per 83A valuation. The expansion path is clear: cap tables, then valuations, then fund admin, then secondary markets.
The AI engineering, product, and infrastructure.
The startup ecosystem expertise, legal knowledge, and first customers.
This is a co-founder search, not a job ad. I'm looking for someone who wants to own half of this company and build it together from day one.
Startup ecosystem expertise. ESOP/equity legal knowledge. VC relationships. First 50 startup customers through portfolio introductions.
AI/full-stack engineering. Cap table engine + ASIC integration. Product design and build. Market research already done.
We'll figure out the right structure together. What matters first is whether we're the right fit.
R&D Tax Incentive (43.5%), Antler/Startmate ($120K-$260K), then Reinventure (Westpac-backed) or NAB Ventures seed round.
"Zero competition. Every startup uses spreadsheets. Every ESOP costs $5K-$20K. The win is inevitable because there is literally nothing else."
Talk to founders who've raised seed/Series A. Ask: "How do you manage your cap table? How much did your last ESOP setup cost? Do your employees understand their equity?" Lock in 5 pilot commitments.
Cap table visualization, ESOP grant management, vesting schedules, Division 83A tax scenario modeling. Import from spreadsheet/CSV. Waterfall analysis for fundraising rounds.
Partner with Antler, Startmate, or Blackbird to onboard their portfolio companies. Apply for R&D Tax Incentive. Target 50 startups on the platform.
Add automated Division 83A valuations ($1,500 vs. $5K-$10K from accountants). Launch VC fund admin product. Target 200+ startups. Approach AirTree/Square Peg for seed round.
If you're embedded in the AU startup ecosystem and want to build the equity infrastructure every startup needs, I'd like to hear from you.
Thanks for reaching out. I'll get back to you within 24 hours. Looking forward to the conversation.