Can I still issue founder stock and set up the paperwork after incorporating?
FormationEquity83(b)Governance
Yes. Formation is the certificate, and everything after it is what a filed but empty company is missing. Bylaws, the sole incorporator consent, the board consent naming officers, stock issued to founders with vesting, invention assignments and indemnification agreements can all be adopted now, dated now, so long as they describe what is true today. Companies do this months or years after forming, and the documents are no weaker for it.
The one deadline
An 83(b) election is due within 30 days of the date the stock was transferred, and the IRS grants no extension. If no stock has been issued yet, there is no problem: issue it now and file within 30 days. If stock was issued more than 30 days ago and nobody filed, the paperwork cannot be corrected by adding a form; there are ways forward, but they involve a real transaction rather than a signature, and a tax adviser should look at it first.
If it is an LLC
An LLC's founder document is the operating agreement, and its equity is membership interests rather than shares. An LLC that intends to raise from venture funds converts to a corporation first. That is a separate state filing, it changes the company's tax treatment, and it often means a new EIN. Do the conversion, then the founder stock, in that order.
Where to start
The library has the founder documents on their own: bylaws, the restricted stock agreement, the invention assignment, and the option plan for later hires. The board consent that adopts them comes with a formation packet rather than as a template, so a company formed elsewhere writes its own or asks in chat. Use the ones the company is missing. It does not matter who filed the certificate.
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Written by the lawyers who built Arabella. This is legal information, not legal advice for your situation, and reading it does not make us your lawyers. For a real dispute or a high-stakes decision, talk to a licensed attorney. More questions.