The wire arrives and the fundraising CRM goes quiet. Then a different set of jobs starts. An angel asks how the quarter went, a fund asks for its quarterly numbers, your lawyer needs signatures for an option pool increase, and you can't remember who has pro rata rights.
This page is about that phase, when you're managing people who already hold your shares. It's general information rather than legal advice, and what you owe depends on the documents you signed. If you're still raising, you want the fundraising CRM page instead.
Six things you owe after the money lands
Start by listing what you've actually promised. Pull your signed documents and fill in this table. It will take an afternoon, and it's the most useful thing on this page.
| Obligation | Where it comes from | What software should do | What stays with you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular updates | Habit, sometimes a contract | Recipient list, schedule, record of what was sent | Saying the bad news plainly |
| Cap table records | Company law, and what the next investor will check | One current ledger, transaction history, exports | Board approvals and signed documents |
| Data room access | Your choice, from the raise | Revoking links, showing who opened what | Deciding who should still have access |
| Information rights | Investors' rights agreement or side letter | A list of who gets what, and when | Reading your documents and meeting the dates |
| Consent requests | Charter, voting agreement, state law | Sending documents, collecting signatures, keeping the record | Knowing whose consent you need, usually with a lawyer |
| Pro rata | Investors' rights agreement or side letter | A list of holders, amounts and response dates | Offering it on time, and allocating the round |
NVCA's model financing documents include an Investors' Rights Agreement and a Management Rights Letter, and YC's SAFE page offers an optional Pro Rata Side Letter. If your documents are based on either, those are the first places to look.
Keep the result as a one-page investor register: name, contact, instrument, amount, date, rights granted and the next thing you owe them. Partners move firms and angels change email addresses, so check the contact details at each update. It's also the first document your lawyer will want before the next round.
Updates: pick a date and keep it
Updates have the lowest legal stakes and the highest relationship value. Send one on the same date every month or quarter, keep it short, and include one specific ask. The first investor update guide walks through the format, and the investor update generator drafts one from your highlights, lowlights, metrics and asks.
You don't need a tool for this until roughly 15 recipients, when a mail merge starts to feel fragile. Past that, Visible lets you send updates by email, link or Slack and see who opens them. Its $0 Starter plan covers 100 recipients as of November 2026. Foundersuite lets you send one version to existing investors and an adjusted one to prospects, and tracks who viewed it.
In Nautis, Investor updates is a section of a round's Raise HQ page, described as "Monthly during a raise" and shared only when you choose. It's tied to a raise, so if ongoing reporting is your main need after the close, a dedicated update tool or a plain email list may suit you better.
Cap table records are a different job
Records are where mistakes cost the most, so be strict about who does what. Tracking who owns what is the easy part. Administration also covers issuing securities, handling valuations and keeping everything ready for the next round's diligence.
Nautis doesn't replace dedicated cap table administration. Its Cap table, on Voyage and Fleet, tracks stakeholders, instruments, conversions and transactions, models Scenarios and stores documents. It doesn't generate legal share certificates, and the guide says your lawyer or formation agent issues those. Use it as a working record that helps you plan. Once you've done a priced round or issued options to a growing team, move to a specialist or your lawyer's system of record. Nautis vs Carta sets the two side by side.
| Option | Price | Limit to note |
|---|---|---|
| Carta Launch | $0 | Under $1M raised and up to 25 security holders. Its terms require a paid plan past either line, or if you add a 409A subscription |
| Carta paid plans | Couldn't confirm from its pricing page | Ask for a quote before you cross the Launch limits |
| Cake Equity | $0 for up to 5 stakeholders. Build $1,000 a year for 25. Team $2,750 a year for 40 | Extra stakeholders cost $1 on Build, $5 on Team |
| Pulley | Listed at $1,200 and $3,500 a year | Its site says it will cease all operations on 8 December 2026. Existing customers should act now |
| Spreadsheet | $0 | Fine with founders and a few SAFEs. Past that, errors become expensive |
Information rights and consent requests
These two come from your legal documents and from company law, so a lawyer should own the rules while software keeps the record. The law differs by country and state. The Delaware examples below are there to make the idea concrete.
Information rights
Some investors are contractually entitled to financial statements or budgets by set dates, and often only those above a threshold qualify. Make a simple list: investor, what they're entitled to, the deadline and the source document. Separately, Delaware's Section 220 lets a stockholder make a written demand under oath to inspect books and records for a proper purpose, subject to conditions. If you receive one of those, call your lawyer. Don't answer it from a template.
Consent requests
Delaware's Section 228 allows stockholders to act by written consent without a meeting. It says consents must be delivered within 60 days of the first one, and that holders who didn't consent must get prompt notice of the action. Things to prepare: the document your lawyer drafted, the list of holders needed, a deadline and a record of who signed. Keep a copy with your board materials, as covered in the guide to setting up a board.
Nautis's DocSign can send a PDF for signature and keeps an audit log, and signers don't need an account. It doesn't tell you whose consent you need or whether the document is right.
Pro rata: run the numbers before the next round
Pro rata is an investor's right to buy enough of a new round to keep their percentage. With invented numbers: an investor holds 5% and you're raising $4M. Their full pro rata is 5% of $4M, or $200,000. If three investors with rights hold 5%, 3% and 2%, that's $400,000 of the round spoken for before a new lead sees an allocation. A new lead may want that room, so you should know the number before you negotiate.
Keep a small table with the investor, source document, percentage, amount, notice date, response date and result. The pro rata calculator does the math, and the rules in your documents set the notice period and who qualifies. A tool can remind you, but it can't decide allocation for you.
Close out the fundraising data room
Links shared during a raise tend to live forever. A week after the close, do a clean-up: revoke links for investors who passed, then make a separate smaller room for those who invested, holding only what they should see. Review it each quarter, and when anyone leaves a firm.
In Nautis, Data rooms are on every plan (5, 10 or 25 rooms). The Sharing tab lists each link and lets you revoke it, which takes effect immediately. New links can be public or passcode-protected, can block downloads, and expire after a period you choose, up to 1 year. Analytics shows who opened what. Foundersuite's data room has per-document permissions and watermarking, and Visible's watermarking and advanced permissions are on its Growth plan. If you need those, Nautis's guide doesn't list them.
Choosing an investor management platform
Below is a plain view of who should use what. The right investor management platform depends mostly on how many holders you have and how complex your paperwork has become.
| Your situation | Use | Skip |
|---|---|---|
| A few SAFEs, under 10 holders | A spreadsheet or Carta Launch, plus a monthly email | Anything with an annual contract |
| Seed closed, 10 to 25 holders, reporting to funds | Carta Launch or Cake Equity, plus Visible for updates and metrics | Building a portal nobody asked for |
| Priced round with options and a board | A dedicated cap table administrator and your lawyer, plus an update tool | A workspace as your legal ownership record, including Nautis |
| Small team that wants investors, runway and tasks in one place | Nautis Voyage or Fleet as the working layer, with signed documents held elsewhere | Duplicating the same records across three tools |
If you pick Visible, read Nautis vs Visible for how it stacks up on reporting. Its Base plan is $59 a month on annual billing as of November 2026. Nautis plans run from $49 to $129 a month with a 14-day trial, and pricing has the details. Nautis is a young product that launched publicly in July 2026, so give yourself time to verify that it fits before relying on it.
FAQ
What is startup investor management software?
It's software that helps a startup keep up with people who already hold its shares. That usually means investor updates, cap table records, document access, and tracking rights such as pro rata. Most companies combine two or three tools, not one.
Do I need an investor management platform after a seed round?
You need a reliable cap table record and a habit of sending updates. A dedicated platform becomes worthwhile at around 10 to 25 holders, or when funds expect regular reporting. Below that, a sheet, stored documents and a monthly email are often enough.
Can Nautis manage my cap table instead of Carta?
Not as a full replacement. On Voyage and Fleet, the Nautis Cap table records ownership, tracks transactions and models scenarios, but it doesn't generate legal share certificates, and it isn't dedicated cap table administration. Many companies will still need a specialist once they've done a priced round.
What happens to Pulley customers?
Pulley's site says it will cease all operations and services on 8 December 2026, and that existing customers may qualify for an assisted migration to Carta. If you're a customer, log in now and export your records. Ask your lawyer to check the data before the deadline.
How often should a startup update investors?
Monthly is common at the earliest stages, and quarterly is usually the minimum. Check your documents first, because funds with information rights may be owed specific reports by specific dates. A consistent short note beats an occasional long one.
Sources
- Carta: Launch plan FAQ
- Carta: Launch plan terms
- Cake Equity: pricing
- Pulley: pricing
- Pulley: home page, shutdown notice
- Visible: pricing
- Visible: for founders
- Foundersuite: investor updates
- Foundersuite: data room
- NVCA: model legal documents
- Y Combinator: SAFE documents, including the Pro Rata Side Letter
- Delaware Code, Title 8, Chapter 1, Subchapter VII: sections 220 and 228