← Back🌐 Ver en español
The FounderSeal ladder

🏢 Company and team: which proof counts in the FounderSeal

10 rungs. Each one starts pending and only counts once its proof is audited. Together, this family adds at most 12 points to the evidence block, so reaching the top takes proof from several families.

🏢 Company incorporated

+6 pts

Your company officially registered

Proof asked for: Link or reference from the commercial registry

✍️ Shareholders agreement signed

+6 pts

What happens if somebody leaves, if a decision is needed and if money comes in, written and signed before it is needed.

Proof asked for: Reference and signature date of the agreement (the contents are not needed)

👔 First employee hired

+6 pts

Somebody is on your payroll. Going from founders to a company with staff changes everything else.

Proof asked for: Social security registration or the contract, without personal data

🙌 A team of five

+6 pts

Five people dedicated to the project, founders and employees together. The size at which the company stops depending on a single head.

Proof asked for: List of registrations or the org chart with roles

⌨️ Technical co-founder on board

+6 pts

Whoever builds the product is a partner, not a supplier. It is the first thing an investor looks at in a technology company.

Proof asked for: Deed or certificate of the share split, without amounts

📚 Advisory board in place

+4 pts

People with experience in your sector who have committed in writing to help. They are lending their name, so they thought about it.

Proof asked for: Commitment letter or advisory agreement, with the names

🗂️ Annual accounts filed

+4 pts

Your accounts filed at the commercial registry. The bare minimum anyone checks before signing something with you.

Proof asked for: Filing reference at the commercial registry

🔍 Accounts audited

+6 pts

An external auditor has reviewed your accounts. Even when the law does not require it, passing voluntarily says a lot.

Proof asked for: Audit report with the auditor and the financial year

⏳ Founders full time

+4 pts

Whoever runs the project lives off it, not off another job. The commitment signal most asked about and least proven.

Proof asked for: Self-employed registration or company payroll, without amounts

🌐 Subsidiary or branch abroad

+8 pts

You have opened a company outside Spain. It costs money and paperwork, so nobody does it without something to serve there.

Proof asked for: Commercial registry entry in that country, with the company number

The other families

🚀 There is a product👥 Someone uses it💶 Someone pays🔁 The money repeats📣 It grows on its own🔬 Technical validation🏛️ Regulatory validation💼 Outside money🛡️ Hard to copy

Start with the first rung

On the free plan you can send one rung a month to audit. The FounderSeal is informative: it describes what has been checked, it never recommends investing.

Create my free accountSee the full rubric