From 409As to SAFEs, Double A Labs uses Carta to scale

Austin-based Double A Labs is bringing the metaverse to the corporate universe by allowing companies to create their own virtual worlds where employees can collaborate. “Our proprietary platform turns work into play,” says founder and CEO Amber Allen.

As a pre-seed company, Double A Labs started working with Carta early to set up an easy equity management program for their employees and get their first 409A valuation. From there, they have used Carta to secure their first capital through SAFE notes. Amber and her team are working to scale fast—and they’re confident in their ability to grow on top of Carta’s infrastructure and suite of services.

Setting up Equity and 409A Valuations

“I came from the corporate world before taking the plunge into entrepreneurship,” Amber says. “After bootstrapping the business for almost a decade, the equity process was new to me, so the hands-on support from Carta gave me the confidence to set it up with ease.”

For an early-stage startup operating in a new and rapidly developing space, it can be tough to understand what factors go into your 409A. “The Carta valuations team was amazing to work with,” says Amber. “They were great partners and clearly communicated what valuations and comparable companies were used, as well as how our 409A valuation was calculated. After that was completed, it was really easy to distribute stock options to our employees through the Carta platform.”

Securing SAFEs through Carta

Next, Amber turned her sights to fundraising through SAFE notes, a flexible financing instrument that early-stage startups often use. Double A labs used Carta to manage the entire process, simplifying an often arduous job. Previously, each of these notes would require drafting by lawyers, which is both time and capital intensive—Carta’s platform streamlines all of that work.

“Raising capital with SAFEs through Carta was a breeze,” says Amber. “I love the granularity offered within the platform, like having the option for each individual SAFE to be invested at a pre- or post-money valuation. I incorporated that into my fundraising strategy by offering partners better terms if their check size hit a larger threshold and was able to secure $3.5 million for our friends and family round in under 6 weeks.”

Carta also sends reminder notifications to investors who haven’t signed their SAFEs, giving that time back to founders so they can focus on running their company. “If there’s anything I prioritize as a startup founder, it’s time and money,” Amber says. “Carta’s platform for managing SAFEs helps on both of those fronts. Instead of manually sending individual emails, I can now use Carta to manage the whole process.”

Laying the Groundwork to Scale

Like any startup founder, Amber has big plans for her company. To that end, it’s critical to get the first steps right and lay the groundwork to support that growth.

For Mike Rondinella, VP of Finance at Double A Labs, Carta was the obvious choice from the beginning. “Carta is the first thing anyone I know recommends when talking about equity management,” he says. “Not only was it easy to use for setting up our equity program and SAFEs, but it also helps us keep our data clean and reliable—this gives me confidence that my finance team has a source of truth. Honestly, Carta helps me sleep better at night.”

The Double A team will be exploring more of Carta’s infrastructure as the company grows. “We now have our eyes set on what’s next,” says Amber. “As we plan for growth, I’m thrilled to have a partner like Carta that really scales with my startup and its needs.”