Audit Your Equity in Pulley's Carta Migration

The trap is a clean-looking export

If your company's equity grants, strike prices, vesting schedules, or 409A reports sit in Pulley, the shutdown is a deadline, not a nuisance. Pulley will stop operating on December 8, 2026. The company announced the shutdown on September 15, 2026 and set up an assisted migration path to Carta. Do not accept a migrated table until every grant, strike price, vesting schedule, and 409A file has been checked against source documents.

Pulley secured over $50 million in investor funding, with investors including Founders Fund, General Catalyst, Stripe, and 8VC. Yin Wu began building Pulley in 2020. Pulley arranged for rival Carta to take on its customers and is directing prospective customers to Carta. Carta agreed to assist with moving Pulley customers and is giving them a limited-time promotion. The assisted migration carries cap-table data, documents, and transaction history across to Carta; the technical work is expected to take a few business days after signing. A few business days is not time to audit the records. The move is real, but a clean-looking transfer is not a proof. The promotion is a reason to move, not a reason to skip the audit.

A cap table is the record of who owns what and what each person paid for it. For a startup, it is the map of ownership and price. When the platform changes, the map can redraw itself. The audit is the check that the redrawn map still matches the source documents, including every holder, share class, and price. If a number is wrong in Carta, the error becomes the new baseline.

Pull the source documents before you sign

Start with the documents that support the numbers. The safe-harbour, or tax-safe, basis for option strike prices depends on kept documentation rather than a vendor screen. The PDFs, award agreements, and valuation reports are the test. A completed 409A valuation, the tax valuation that supports option pricing, keeps its normal 12-month validity from the valuation date unless a material, or significant, event occurs. Keep the report with the company's records.

Run this checklist before the move

Run this minimum audit before anyone signs off on the import. Each item is a records check, and it should be complete before the final table is accepted. It is the floor, not the ceiling.

• Export the current Pulley cap table and save a dated copy before any migration work begins.
• Match every holder, share class, and option grant against the signed award documents.
• Confirm strike prices, vesting schedules, cliff dates, and acceleration terms match the underlying agreements.
• Download every completed 409A valuation report, including older reports, not only the current one.
• Save each 409A report as a full PDF with a visible valuation date before December 8, 2026.
• Verify the option pool, transfer restrictions, SAFEs (simple agreements for future equity), and convertible notes (loans that can convert into equity) appear in the migrated table.
• Compare the Carta import against your own export before accepting the final table.
• Confirm the Carta pricing terms: keep the existing Pulley price for one year and receive credit for unused subscription time.

The list is short because the risk is concentrated. A wrong strike price can create a tax problem for an employee. Missing vesting terms can create a dispute later. Lost 409A files can weaken the company's safe-harbour position. If an item fails, stop the import until the source document is corrected or the discrepancy is explained in writing.

The opt-in date changes the order of work

Companies must opt in by November 30, 2026 to receive Pulley's assisted migration to Carta and its associated pricing terms. That date comes before the shutdown. Finish the audit in that gap, and keep the source documents with the company's records.