Onboard an advisor

The four FAST tiers map to standard parameter shapes. Drop-in payloads:

// Standard — quarterly check-ins
{"engagement_tier": "standard", "shares": 25000, "vesting_months": 24, "cliff_months": 0}

// Strategic — monthly meetings
{"engagement_tier": "strategic", "shares": 50000, "vesting_months": 24, "cliff_months": 0}

// Expert — weekly involvement
{"engagement_tier": "expert", "shares": 100000, "vesting_months": 24, "cliff_months": 0}

// Personal — friend of founder
{"engagement_tier": "personal", "shares": 100000, "vesting_months": 24, "cliff_months": 0}

Translate shares to a percentage by dividing by fully-diluted outstanding; the engagement tier is paperwork-shaped and matches the FAST cover page, but the actual percentage is your call within the tier band.

For an advisor who joins before the equity plan exists (e.g., during the formation week, when the founder doesn't yet have a 409A), an RSA on common stock is the alternative to an NSO grant. The RSA needs an 83(b) election filed within 30 days, which Matter auto-cascades:

{
  "stakeholder_id": "stk_yusuf_advisor",
  "kind": "rsa",
  "share_class_id": "cls_common",
  "shares": 50000,
  "purchase_price_per_share": "0.0001",
  "vesting": {"schedule": "monthly", "months": 24, "cliff_months": 0, "start_date": "2026-05-01"},
  "file_83b": true,
  "authorizing_resolution_id": "res_advisor_yusuf_rsa"
}

The file_83b: true flag triggers the same 83(b) auto-cascade as founder stock (see form a company). The advisor signs the 83(b) election form within the envelope; Matter mails it certified to the IRS within 30 days.

Trade-off: RSA dilutes voting power immediately (founders own 99.5% on issuance instead of after the option exercises), and the recipient pays ordinary income tax on the spread between purchase price and FMV at issuance. For very-early-stage entities where common stock has near-zero FMV, this is fine; later it gets expensive.

Some advisor relationships tie vesting to outcomes rather than time — common when the advisor is brought on for a specific deliverable (a key intro, a customer rollout, a regulatory sign-off). Pass schedule: milestone on the vesting block:

{
  "stakeholder_id": "stk_yusuf_advisor",
  "kind": "nso",
  "equity_plan_id": "plan_2026_eip",
  "shares": 50000,
  "exercise_price_per_share": "0.42",
  "vesting": {
    "schedule": "milestone",
    "milestones": [
      {"id": "ms_intro_to_marketplace", "shares": 12500, "description": "Successful intro to two paying marketplace customers."},
      {"id": "ms_rfq_response", "shares": 12500, "description": "RFQ response to qualified pilot."},
      {"id": "ms_first_renewal", "shares": 12500, "description": "First marketplace customer renewal."},
      {"id": "ms_24mo", "shares": 12500, "description": "24 months of continuous service."}
    ]
  },
  "authorizing_resolution_id": "res_advisor_yusuf_milestone"
}

Mark a milestone as met via POST /v1/grants/{id}/milestone_met with the milestone id; the corresponding tranche vests immediately.

Some advisor relationships call for single- or double-trigger acceleration on a change of control — common when the advisor is a former operator who expects standard exec-grade protection. Layer the acceleration onto the NSO vesting block:

{
  "stakeholder_id": "stk_yusuf_advisor",
  "kind": "nso",
  "equity_plan_id": "plan_2026_eip",
  "shares": 50000,
  "exercise_price_per_share": "0.42",
  "vesting": {
    "schedule": "monthly",
    "months": 24,
    "cliff_months": 0,
    "start_date": "2026-05-01",
    "change_of_control_acceleration": {
      "trigger": "double",
      "qualifying_termination_window_months": 12,
      "acceleration_percent": 100
    }
  },
  "authorizing_resolution_id": "res_advisor_yusuf_2026"
}

trigger: single accelerates on the change-of-control event itself. trigger: double requires both the change-of-control event and a qualifying termination within qualifying_termination_window_months — the standard double-trigger shape. The acceleration clause renders into the Advisor Agreement's vesting schedule appendix from the FAST template.

If the advisor's role requires access to confidential roadmap or technical information ahead of the FAST signing, layer an NDA as a child Document on the Advisor Agreement. The NDA signs in the same envelope so confidentiality covers the full engagement period:

{
  "entity_id": "ent_Nq3KcAbc",
  "subject": "Advisor Agreement + NDA — Yusuf Ndiaye",
  "document_ids": [
    "doc_advisor_agreement_yusuf",
    "doc_advisor_nda_yusuf"
  ],
  "signers": [
    {"stakeholder_id": "stk_yusuf_advisor", "order": 1},
    {"stakeholder_id": "stk_jane_F0und3r", "order": 2}
  ],
  "routing": "sequential"
}

The NDA Document is created with attaches_to: <advisor_agreement_id>, attachment_kind: nda. Optional but worth it for advisors who'll see roadmap or competitive material.