Forge is your company's ownership operating system. It tracks who owns what in your business — shares, stock options, convertible notes (SAFEs), and more — all in one place.

Think of it like a live, always-accurate record of your company's ownership. Instead of managing spreadsheets that go out of date, Forge keeps everything in sync as you issue shares, add investors, grant options to employees, and raise funding rounds.

You do not need to be a lawyer or accountant to use Forge. If you can fill in a spreadsheet, you can use Forge.

Who is Forge for?

• Founders — track your own shares and dilution as you grow
• Investors — see your holdings and SAFE conversions in one place
• Advisors & Employees — view your vesting schedule and stock options
• Legal / Finance teams — maintain an audit-ready cap table

When you first sign in, Forge walks you through a short setup. Here is what to do in order:

1. Create your first entity — an "entity" is a company, fund, or legal structure you own. Give it a name, choose its type (C-Corp, LLC, etc.), and enter the date it was formed.
2. Add share classes — share classes define the different types of ownership (e.g. "Common Stock", "Series A Preferred"). Most startups start with just "Common Stock."
3. Add stakeholders — these are the people and organizations who own or will own a piece of the company (founders, investors, employees, advisors).
4. Record equity events — this is where you log who received shares and when. Each time someone gets stock, you add an "issuance" event.
5. Import existing data (optional) — if you already have a spreadsheet cap table, use the Import page to bring everything in at once.

Tip: If you are starting from scratch, the quickest path is to use the Bulk Import template (download it from the Import page). Fill it in and upload it — Forge will create everything automatically.

The Dashboard is the first thing you see when you log in. It shows a bird's-eye view of everything across all your companies.

What you can see here

• Your entities — each company or fund you manage is shown as a card, sorted by the founder's implied ownership value. Click any card to dive into that company's details.
• Recent activity — the last 10 ownership changes across all your companies (new shares issued, SAFEs recorded, etc.).
• Upcoming vesting milestones — alerts when a cliff date or full-vest date is approaching for any of your stakeholders.
• Portfolio statistics — total number of companies, active vesting schedules, and a rough implied value of your holdings.

What you can do here

• Add a new entity — click the "+" button to create a new company or fund.
• Export portfolio data — download a CSV summary of all your holdings.
• Ask a question — type a plain-English question (e.g. "What is my ownership percentage in Acme Corp?") and Forge will answer it using your actual data.

An entity is any legal structure you manage: a corporation, LLC, fund, SPV, holding company, etc. You can have as many entities as your plan allows.

Entity types

• C-Corp — the most common structure for US startups backed by venture capital
• LLC — a limited liability company; can be single-member (LLC-SM) or multi-member (LLC-MM)
• SPV — special purpose vehicle, often used to pool investors for a single deal
• Fund — a venture or private equity fund
• Holding Co — a parent company that holds ownership in other entities
• Series LLC — an LLC with separately protected series or cells
• International: UK Ltd, Cayman Exempted, Singapore Pte, Delaware Trust, Nonprofit 501c3

Creating an entity

Click "Add Entity" on the Dashboard or Entities page. Fill in:

• Name — the official legal name
• Type — choose from the list above
• Status — Active, Fundraising, Paused, or Dissolved
• Formation date — when the entity was legally formed (YYYY-MM-DD format)
• State — US state of formation (e.g. DE for Delaware)
• EIN — Employer Identification Number (optional, stored securely)
• Authorized shares — the maximum number of shares the company is authorized to issue (for corporations)
• Option pool % — the percentage of shares set aside for employee stock options

Click any entity to open its detail page. There are multiple tabs across the top — here is what each one does:

• Cap Table — shows who owns what in this entity right now: shares held, ownership percentage, and implied dollar value. See the Cap Table section below for full details.
• Share Classes — lists all the types of stock (Common, Preferred Series A, Options pool, SAFEs, etc.). You can add, edit, or delete share classes here.
• Vesting — all vesting schedules for people associated with this entity. See the Vesting section below.
• Scenarios — model what would happen to everyone's ownership if you raise a new funding round, do a buyback, or other events. See Scenarios below.
• Board — lists board members, their roles (Chair, Director, Observer), and appointment dates.
• Compliance — automatic checks that flag problems like issuing more shares than you are authorized to, missing valuations, or other cap table errors.
• Equity Ops — advanced operations: stock certificate generation, stock splits, issuance workflows.
• Documents — upload and store legal documents tied to this entity (stock certificates, board consents, 409A reports, etc.).
• Reporting — generate tax and compliance forms: Form 3921 (for ISOs), Form 4 (for restricted stock), 409A valuation records.
• Spreadsheet — an editable grid view of all cap table data, similar to a spreadsheet.

A share class defines a category of ownership with its own rules. Most companies have at least two: Common Stock (for founders and employees) and Preferred Stock (for investors). As you raise more rounds, you add more classes (Series A Preferred, Series B Preferred, etc.).

Share class types explained in plain English

• Common Stock — the basic form of ownership. Founders and employees typically receive Common Stock. In a company sale, Common shareholders are paid last — after creditors and Preferred holders — but they also have the most upside if the company does well. Common Stock usually carries 1 vote per share.
• Founder Common (Class B) / Dual-Class Common — many companies create a separate class of Common Stock specifically for founders, called Class B (or "Founder Common"). The key difference is voting power: Class B shares often carry 10 votes per share instead of 1, while regular Common Stock (Class A) carries 1 vote. This lets founders keep control of the company through shareholder votes even as they sell down their economic ownership in funding rounds. For example, a founder who owns 20% of the economic value but holds all Class B shares may still control 60%+ of shareholder votes. Economically (in a sale), Class A and Class B shares are usually equal — the difference is only in votes.
• Preferred Stock — shares sold to outside investors (venture capital, angel investors). Preferred shareholders get paid back first in a sale or wind-down, before Common shareholders receive anything. They also typically have other protective rights like anti-dilution provisions and veto rights on major decisions.
• Series A / B / C Preferred — each funding round creates a new class of Preferred Stock. "Series A Preferred" is the first institutional round, "Series B Preferred" is the second, etc. Each series has its own liquidation preference and may have a higher seniority (gets paid before earlier series).
• Option Pool — shares set aside to grant to future employees, advisors, and service providers as stock options. The pool itself holds no economic value until options are granted and exercised.
• SAFE — a "Simple Agreement for Future Equity." Not shares yet — it is a promise that converts to shares when the company raises its next priced funding round. SAFEs are the most common way to raise pre-seed money.
• Note (Convertible Note) — a loan to the company that automatically converts into equity rather than being repaid in cash. Similar to a SAFE but structured as debt with an interest rate.
• Warrant — the right to buy shares at a fixed price in the future. Often issued to advisors, service providers, or as part of a debt arrangement.
• Phantom Stock — not real shares. A cash bonus plan where an employee receives a payout tied to the value of company shares, without actually owning shares. No shareholder rights, no cap table impact.
• Unit — LLCs issue "units" instead of shares. Economically equivalent, but governed by an operating agreement instead of a certificate of incorporation.

Key fields when creating a share class

• Authorized shares — the maximum number of this class that can ever be issued. Leave blank for SAFEs and Notes (which don't have a share count).
• Liquidation preference multiple — for Preferred shares only. "1x" means investors get their money back first. "2x" means they get double their investment back before anyone else sees a dollar. Common shares have no preference (leave blank).
• Participating — if "yes" (participating preferred), investors get their liquidation preference AND then also share in what's left alongside Common holders. If "no" (non-participating), they must choose: take the preference, or convert to Common and share the proceeds proportionally.
• Seniority rank — determines the payment order when multiple Preferred classes exist. A higher rank = paid first. Series C would typically have a higher seniority than Series A.

Can entities be shared with other stakeholders?

Yes — in two ways:

• Team members (co-founders, legal counsel, finance staff) — go to Settings → Team and invite them by email. They get a full login to your Forge organization and can view and edit all entities and cap tables you manage.
• Stakeholders (investors, employees, advisors) — send them a Stakeholder Portal invite from the Stakeholders page. They get a read-only personal view showing only their own holdings, vesting schedule, and documents — not anyone else's data.

A stakeholder is anyone who holds or may hold equity in your company: founders, investors, advisors, employees, and organizations like funds or holding companies.

Stakeholder types — equity roles

These types describe a person's equity relationship with the company. One person can hold multiple types (e.g. a founder who also invested via a SAFE). Check all that apply — they will appear under each relevant section of the cap table.

• Founder — original owners of the company. Shown with a crown icon in the cap table.
• Investor — people or funds who invested money in exchange for equity or SAFEs.
• Advisor — people who receive equity in exchange for advice, introductions, or expertise.
• Employee — team members who receive stock options or restricted stock grants.
• Option Pool — a placeholder representing unissued shares set aside for future employee grants.
• Other — any other type of equity holder (e.g. a service provider who took equity as compensation).

Board Members / Directors — a separate governance role

Board membership is not a stakeholder type — it is a separate governance role tracked on the Board tab of each entity. This is an important distinction:

• A stakeholder type (Founder, Investor, etc.) describes who holds equity and how much.
• A board member role (Chair, Director, Independent, Observer) describes who has governance power over the company, regardless of how many shares they hold.

In practice, many founders are also board directors. The right way to record this in Forge is to add the person as a Stakeholder with type FOUNDER (for their equity), and then also add them on the Board tab of the entity with role DIRECTOR or CHAIR (for their governance role).

Board observers can see board materials but typically cannot vote on resolutions. They are added with role OBSERVER and can also receive a Stakeholder Portal invite.

See the Board Voting section below for how board votes work differently from shareholder votes.

Adding a stakeholder

Click "Add Stakeholder" and fill in:

• Full name — the person's or organization's legal name
• Types — check all that apply (you can check multiple)
• Email — used for Stakeholder Portal invites so they can see their own holdings
• Role title — e.g. "Co-Founder & CEO" or "Strategic Advisor"
• Notes — any internal notes (not visible to the stakeholder)

Searching and filtering

On the Stakeholders page, you can search by name or email, and filter by type (Founder, Investor, etc.) or status (Active / All). Each card shows the person's holdings across all entities and their total implied value.

Sending a Stakeholder Portal invite

When you add a stakeholder and check "Portal invite: yes," they receive an email letting them log in to the Forge Stakeholder Portal to see their own holdings, vesting schedule, and documents. See the Stakeholder Portal section for more.

The cap table (capitalization table) is the master record of who owns equity in your company, how much they own, and what that ownership is worth at the current valuation.

Reading the cap table

The cap table is grouped by security type: Common Stock, Preferred Stock, Options/Pool, and SAFEs. Each row shows:

• Stakeholder name — who holds this position
• Type badges — their role(s): FOUNDER, INVESTOR, ADVISOR, etc.
• Share class — which type of stock they hold
• Quantity — number of shares (or SAFE units)
• Economic % — their percentage of total economic ownership
• Voting % — their percentage of voting power (may differ from economic % if some shares are non-voting)
• Ownership % — their share of total outstanding equity
• Implied value — estimated dollar value based on the latest 409A valuation or FMV price
• Vesting — a progress indicator if this position has a vesting schedule attached

Stakeholder breakdown panel

Above the main table, a summary panel shows ownership grouped by stakeholder role (Founders, Investors, Advisors, etc.). This is useful for quickly seeing how the company is divided between founders and outside investors. A person with multiple roles (e.g. FOUNDER + INVESTOR) appears in both rows in the "Individuals" count, but their shares are only counted once to avoid double-counting.

Fully diluted cap table

The cap table also calculates a "fully diluted" view — this assumes all options have been exercised and all SAFEs have converted to shares. This gives a more accurate picture of what everyone's ownership will look like after all the equity is issued.

Exporting

Click "Export CSV" to download the full cap table as a spreadsheet you can open in Excel or Google Sheets.

Correcting a mistake

Click the edit icon on any row to open the correction dialog. You can adjust the quantity, date, price, or other details of the underlying ownership event.

There are two completely separate types of voting in a company. Confusing them is one of the most common mistakes founders make. Forge tracks both.

Shareholder voting (shown in the cap table)

Shareholder votes are cast by the people and funds who own shares. The number of votes each person has is proportional to their shares — or, in a dual-class structure, their shares multiplied by the voting weight of their share class (e.g. Class B = 10 votes per share).

Shareholder votes are used for major decisions such as:

• Approving a sale of the company
• Electing board members
• Approving major amendments to the charter
• Authorizing a new round of financing

In the cap table, the Voting % column shows each stakeholder's share of total shareholder voting power. If a founder holds Class B shares at 10 votes each while everyone else holds Class A at 1 vote, the founder's Voting % will be much higher than their economic ownership %.

Board voting (shown on the Board tab)

Board votes are cast by the members of the Board of Directors — not all shareholders. By default, each board director gets 1 vote regardless of how many shares they own. A director who owns 0.1% of the company has the same board vote as a director who owns 30%.

Board votes are used for operational and governance decisions such as:

• Hiring or firing the CEO
• Approving the annual budget
• Granting stock options
• Signing major contracts
• Board resolutions and written consents

On the Board tab of any entity, you can see each director's vote count and record votes on board resolutions (yes, no, or abstain). Forge tracks whether a quorum was reached and shows the running tally.

Example

A company has 3 board seats: the founder (Chair, 1 vote), an investor director (1 vote), and an independent director (1 vote). The founder owns 40% of shares. On a shareholder vote the founder has 40% of the votes. On a board vote the founder has 1 out of 3 votes — they can be outvoted by the two outside directors even though they own the most shares.

How board roles are set in Forge

Board members are added on the Board tab of each entity. Valid roles are:

• Chair — runs board meetings, typically the founder or lead investor
• Director — a full voting member of the board
• Independent — an outside director with no financial interest in the company (often required by investors or for governance best practices)
• Observer — attends board meetings but cannot vote. Common for smaller investors or advisors who want visibility without formal governance rights.

Every change to your cap table is recorded as an equity event. The cap table is built from the running total of all these events — just like a bank account is built from all the transactions.

Event types and what they mean

• Issuance — new shares are created and given to a person (e.g. a founder receives 4,000,000 shares at founding)
• Option Grant — a promise to let an employee buy shares later at a fixed price (the "strike price"). The options have not been exercised yet — no shares change hands at this point.
• Option Exercise — an employee actually buys the shares their options entitle them to, by paying the strike price
• SAFE Note — recording a SAFE investment: someone gives the company money in exchange for the right to receive shares in the next funding round
• Transfer — existing shares move from one person to another (e.g. a founder sells some of their shares to an investor)
• Conversion — a SAFE or convertible note converts into actual shares (usually triggered by a funding round)
• Cancellation — shares are cancelled, typically when an employee leaves before fully vesting
• Repurchase — the company buys back shares from a departing stakeholder

Adding an event manually

Click "Add Event" and fill in: entity, stakeholder, share class, event type, date, quantity, and price per share. All fields marked with * are required.

Viewing the event log

The Events page shows a chronological list of all ownership changes across all your companies. You can filter by event type, entity, or date range.

Vesting means that equity is earned gradually over time, rather than all at once. This is the standard way to grant equity to founders and employees — it ensures people stay committed to the company to earn their shares.

How a typical vesting schedule works

The most common setup is 4 years with a 1-year cliff. Here is what that means:

• The person receives no shares for the first 12 months (the "cliff" period)
• On the 12-month anniversary, they receive 25% of their total shares all at once (they "hit the cliff")
• After that, the remaining 75% vest gradually every month (about 2.08% per month) over the next 3 years
• After 4 years total, 100% of shares are vested
• If someone leaves before the cliff, they receive nothing

Reading the vesting table

The Vesting page shows every active schedule. For each person, you can see:

• Total quantity — the total shares in the grant
• Vested to date — how many have been earned so far
• Remaining — how many are still unvested
• Progress bar — visual indicator of how far along they are
• Status — Pre-cliff (before the cliff date), Actively vesting, or Fully vested
• Next milestone — the date of the next scheduled vest

Adding a vesting schedule

Click "Add Vesting Schedule" and enter: stakeholder, entity, share class, total shares, start date, cliff months (default 12), and duration months (default 48). You can also enter a separate "grant date" if the option was granted on a different day than vesting started.

83(b) elections

When a founder receives restricted stock that vests over time, they may file an "83(b) election" with the IRS within 30 days of receiving the shares. This locks in their tax basis at the grant price instead of the (usually much higher) fair market value when shares vest. Forge tracks 83(b) deadlines and stores election forms in the Documents section.

A SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity) is the most common way early-stage startups raise money. An investor gives the company cash today, and in return they receive shares when the company raises its next priced funding round.

SAFEs are not shares yet — they are promises. They do not appear in the "issued shares" count until they convert. Forge tracks them separately in the SAFE Register and shows them as a distinct section in the cap table.

Key SAFE terms

• Investment amount — how much the investor put in (in dollars)
• Valuation cap — the maximum company valuation at which the SAFE converts to shares. Protects the investor from being diluted too much if the company's value has grown a lot by the time of the next round. Example: a $5M cap SAFE on a company that raises at a $20M valuation will convert as if the valuation were only $5M — giving the investor more shares.
• Discount rate — the percentage discount the investor gets on the next round's share price. Example: a 20% discount means if the next round prices shares at $1.00, the SAFE holder pays only $0.80 per share.
• Pro rata rights — whether the investor has the right to invest in the next round to maintain their ownership percentage.
• Round name — a label to identify which fundraise this SAFE belongs to (e.g. "Pre-Seed SAFE," "Bridge Round").

Recording a SAFE

Use the SAFEs sheet in the Bulk Import template, or log it as an equity event of type "SAFE Note." You do not need a share class set up — Forge will auto-create a "SAFE" share class if you import SAFEs and one does not exist yet.

Converting a SAFE

When you close a priced funding round, use the "Convert SAFE" dialog on the entity's cap table page. Enter the new round's share price and Forge will calculate how many shares each SAFE converts into based on its cap and discount terms.

The Scenarios tool lets you model "what if" situations without changing any real data. It is a sandbox where you can see exactly how a new funding round, secondary sale, or buyback would affect everyone's ownership before you commit to anything.

What you can model

• Funding round — enter a new investment amount and post-money valuation. See the new share price, how much dilution each existing shareholder takes, and what the new investor gets.
• Secondary sale — model a founder or early investor selling some of their shares to a new buyer.
• Buyback / repurchase — model the company buying back shares from a departing employee or investor.
• Tender offer — model a structured program where employees can sell their options or shares to outside investors.
• Custom — any combination of events.

Reading the scenario output

• Pre/post ownership table — shows each stakeholder's ownership percentage before and after the modeled event, with the delta highlighted
• Waterfall analysis — in a sale scenario, shows who gets paid and in what order based on liquidation preferences
• Dilution chart — visual breakdown of how the pie chart changes
• Term sheet sensitivity — slide the valuation or investment amount and see the numbers update in real time

Saving scenarios

Give a scenario a name and click Save. You can have multiple saved scenarios per entity (e.g. "Series A at $20M," "Series A at $30M") and compare them side by side. Saved scenarios are private to your organization.

The Import page lets you bring in data from a spreadsheet — either an Excel file (.xlsx) or individual CSV files. This is the fastest way to set up Forge if you already have a cap table or investor list somewhere.

The recommended workflow

1. Download the template — click "Download Workbook Template" to get a pre-formatted Excel file with 9 sheets (one per data type). The "Key" sheet explains every column.
2. Fill in your data — each sheet has example rows showing the exact format. Required columns are marked with an asterisk (*).
3. Upload and validate (dry run) — drag the file onto the import page with "Validate only" switched on. This checks your data for errors without saving anything.
4. Fix any errors — the results panel shows exactly which rows have problems and what is wrong. Fix them in your spreadsheet and re-upload.
5. Import for real — once the dry run shows no errors, switch off "Validate only" and click Import.

What gets imported from each sheet

• 1 · Entities — your companies and funds
• 2 · Share Classes — the types of stock in each company
• 3 · Stakeholders — everyone who owns or may own equity
• 4 · Equity Events — all the issuances, grants, and transfers
• 5 · Vesting — vesting schedules for each equity grant
• 6 · Valuations — 409A or FMV valuations
• 7 · Board Members — your board of directors
• 8 · SAFEs — convertible SAFE note investments

After running a dry-run import, you may see errors (red), warnings (amber), or auto-action notices (blue).

Errors (red) — must be fixed before importing

• "Entity not found" — the entity name in this row does not match any entity in the Entities sheet or your database. Check for typos — names must match exactly.
• "Share class not found" — the share class name in an equity event does not match the Share Classes sheet. Make sure you listed that share class in Sheet 2 first.
• "Expected number, received nan" — a numeric field (like authorized shares) has a value that cannot be read as a number. Common causes: commas in the number ("1,000,000" is fine now), currency symbols, or text in a number column.
• "Must be YYYY-MM-DD" — date fields require the format 2024-01-15 (year-month-day). Do not use 01/15/2024 or January 15, 2024.
• "Investment amount must be positive" — the SAFE amount cannot be zero or negative.

Warnings — duplicates (amber)

If an equity event or SAFE already exists in the database with the same stakeholder, date, and amount, it appears as a potential duplicate. Each duplicate row has its own checkbox. You can:

• Leave unchecked — the duplicate row will be skipped (default)
• Check it — it will be imported as a new entry (use this for legitimate follow-on investments or corrections)
• "Select all" / "Select none" buttons at the top of the duplicate panel to quickly check or uncheck all

Auto-actions (blue) — informational only

These are things Forge will do automatically on import that you should be aware of:

• Auto-creating a share class — when you import SAFEs and the share class "SAFE" does not exist yet, Forge creates it for you
• Auto-creating a stakeholder — when a SAFE references an investor name that is not in the Stakeholders sheet, Forge creates them as an INVESTOR
• Defaulting a date to today — if an investment date is blank or "[TBD]", Forge uses today's date. Update it later if you know the actual date.

Required fields are marked *. All name fields must match exactly across sheets.

The Documents section is a secure vault for storing legal files related to your cap table: stock certificates, agreements, board consents, 409A reports, and more.

Where are documents stored?

Files are stored in Supabase Storage, which uses Amazon S3-compatible object storage. This means:

• Files are stored on servers in a SOC 2-certified data center
• All files are encrypted at rest using AES-256 encryption
• All file transfers are encrypted in transit using TLS (the same technology as online banking)
• Each file is stored at a path that includes your entity's unique ID, so files from different organizations are physically separated in storage

Is it secure?

Yes. Documents are protected by two layers of security:

• Database-level access control (Row Level Security) — the database record for each document is locked to your organization. No query from another organization can ever see your document records, even if there were a software bug.
• Time-limited signed download URLs — when you click to download a document, Forge generates a special URL that expires in 5 minutes. After 5 minutes the link stops working entirely, even if someone copies and shares it. There are no permanent public links to any document.

Who can access documents?

• Organization members (people you add via Settings → Team) can view and manage all documents across all entities in your organization.
• Stakeholder Portal users can only see documents that have been explicitly shared with them — typically their own stock certificate, grant agreement, or 83(b) form. They cannot browse your full document vault.
• Nobody outside your organization can access any document, ever. Not even Forge support staff unless you explicitly share access.

Uploading a document

Click "Upload Document" and fill in:

• Document type — stock certificate, SAFE note, board consent, 83(b), 409A report, etc.
• Entity — which company this document belongs to
• Stakeholder — (optional) the person this document relates to. If set, they can see it in their Stakeholder Portal.
• Execution status — Draft (not yet signed) or Executed (signed)
• Execution date — when it was signed
• File — upload a PDF or image file

Finding documents

Use the search bar to find by name, or filter by status (Draft/Executed), entity, or stakeholder. Toggle between grid view and list view using the icons in the top right.

Access Settings from the sidebar (bottom left) or by clicking your avatar. The settings page has four tabs:

Account tab

• Update your display name, email address, and avatar
• Toggle between light and dark mode
• Export all your personal data as a CSV (for GDPR/CCPA compliance)
• Delete your account permanently (irreversible — requires confirmation)

Team tab

• See everyone in your organization who has access to Forge
• Invite a new team member by email and assign them a role:
  • Owner — full access to everything including billing and member management
  • Admin — full access to data but cannot manage billing or remove owners
  • Member — read/write access to cap table data
• Change a team member's role or remove them from the organization

Billing tab

• See your current subscription plan (Starter, Pro, or Enterprise)
• View usage: how many entities, stakeholders, and AI queries you have used this period
• Manage your subscription through the Stripe billing portal
• Enter a promo code for a discount

Org settings tab

• Set your organization's display name
• Set default currency and timezone
• Configure tax settings for stock option expense reporting

The Stakeholder Portal is a separate, personal, read-only view that any stakeholder — founders, investors, employees, advisors, board observers — can log into to see their own equity holdings. It is intentionally simple: each person sees only their own data, never anyone else's.

This is not the same as being a team member. Team members (invited via Settings → Team) see everything and can edit the cap table. Portal users see only their own slice.

Who should get a portal invite?

• Co-founders who want to track their own vesting and holdings
• Investors who want to see their SAFEs, equity position, and documents
• Employees who have stock options and want to see their vesting progress
• Advisors who want to check their equity grant
• Board observers who want to access board-related documents

How to invite a stakeholder

1. When adding or editing a stakeholder, set "Portal invite" to "yes" and make sure their email address is filled in
2. They will receive an email with a link to set up their Forge account
3. Once logged in, they see their personal dashboard — nothing else

What stakeholders see in the portal

• Holdings dashboard — all their equity positions across all entities: shares held, ownership %, and implied value
• Vesting dashboard — all their vesting schedules: progress bars, cliff dates, next milestones, fully vested dates
• Option exercise — if they have vested options, they can submit an exercise request. They choose how many options to exercise and the method (cash, cashless, or net exercise).
• Documents — their own stock certificates, grant agreements, 83(b) forms, and any documents explicitly linked to them

What stakeholders cannot do

Portal users are read-only. They cannot change the cap table, create entities, see other stakeholders' holdings, or access your document vault. They can only submit exercise requests, which your team must then review and approve.

The bell icon in the top right corner shows notifications when something requires your attention. Click it to see a list of pending items.

The Action Items page (from the sidebar) shows a full list of tasks assigned to you, such as:

• Board resolutions waiting for your approval or signature
• Option exercise requests from employees that need to be processed
• Upcoming 83(b) election deadlines (must file within 30 days of grant)
• Vesting cliffs approaching for stakeholders
• Documents that need to be signed

Each action item shows the due date, priority, and a link to the relevant entity or stakeholder. Mark items as complete once you have taken action.

Forge takes data security seriously. Here is what you need to know:

• Single-tenant architecture — your company's data is stored in its own isolated environment. No other organization can see your data, ever.
• Row-level security (RLS) — every database query is filtered to your organization at the database level, not just in the application layer. Even if there were a software bug, your data could not bleed into another organization's account.
• Encrypted at rest and in transit — all data is encrypted using industry-standard protocols.
• Audit trail — every change to your cap table is logged with who made the change, when, and from what IP address. This log cannot be deleted.
• No third-party valuations — Forge tracks 409A valuations provided by external appraisers. Forge itself does not perform 409A appraisals; it is not a registered appraisal firm.
• No secondary market — Forge does not facilitate buying or selling of private company shares. It is a record-keeping tool only.

Exporting your data

You own your data. You can export your full cap table as a CSV at any time from the Cap Table page. You can also request a full data export from Settings → Account.