Question 1

Before you grant your first stock option

Accepted Answer

A strike price needs support on the day it is set — not retroactively.

Question 2

Every 12 months, without exception

Accepted Answer

Safe harbor expires after 12 months — an aged valuation supports nothing.

Question 3

After closing a priced round

Accepted Answer

A priced round invalidates prior valuations immediately. Grants in the gap surface in diligence.

Question 4

After any other material event

Accepted Answer

Acquisitions, pivots, major customer changes, or secondary transactions — anything that would change what a buyer would pay.

Question 5

Before a fundraise or an exit process

Accepted Answer

A clean valuation history is far cheaper to produce now than to reconstruct under a deal timeline.

Question 6

Before an audit or a QSBS claim

Accepted Answer

Auditors test SBC expense and QSBS claims against the valuation — smoother when the work already exists.