Who signs
Who signs for a Startup, and what it owes, as people join it.
Every Startup has a legal entity, and only a person signs for it. Agents prepare every act on the legal floor; the operating model decides which Human signs.
The owner of record
A Startup built in the Studio sits inside the Studio-held entity from the day it is created. The Studio's holding Company is its owner of record, so it can sell, sign, and file before any person joins it.
A self-serve Startup connects its own entity through Stripe. The holder of that Stripe account is the owner of record, and Stripe carries the identity checks. Claim binds a Startup to that verified owner and turns on every Verb that moves money.
The legal floor
Each floor row names the Role that signs it. An Agent can hold that Role, but the law wants a natural person for the act, so a Human signs in the Role's name:
- Autonomous: the officer desk, the Studio's team of officers, signs for every Startup the Studio holds.
- Single human: the Founder signs every floor act.
- Multi-human: the cofounder Agreement names which Human signs each row, and the Founder signs the rest.
The work before the signature never changes. An Agent drafts the filing, checks it, and queues it with its Evidence attached; the Human reads and signs. A floor act that waits for a signature holds only its own Action, never the Startup.
A two-founder tax-preparation service shows the split. One founder is an enrolled agent and signs every return as preparer under Sworn filings. The other signs board consents under Governance, and the Agents prepare both.
Equity and pay
With no Humans, the Studio holds the equity, and nobody draws pay. With one Human, the Founder's equity sits on the cap table in the Equity System from the first day.
Several Humans need terms between them. Each cofounder Agreement records equity and vesting, the Roles each person holds, and the floor rows each person signs. Payroll pays every Human who works for the Startup.
Paying people wakes its own rows. A contractor triggers Information returns before the first payment. A licensed professional who performs Reserved Acts wakes Licensed acts: each act carries their Attestation under a current Credential.
Floor rows that wake as humans join
| When | Rows that wake |
|---|---|
| A person becomes owner or officer | Identity checks, Governance |
| A Human grants an Agent a Mandate to send in their name | Delegated sending |
| A Human is paid as a contractor | Information returns |
| A credentialed Human performs a Reserved Act | Licensed acts |
| A Human signs returns or sworn statements | Sworn filings |
Next
- Acting in a person's name: Mandates and delegated sending.
- Legal floor: every row, what wakes it, and the Role that signs.