I don't know why incorporating is such a big deal. When I started my beloved small business consulting thing, I thought that as a founder I should know what I am getting into it, so I spend a little time learning about what I am doing (two days all in all) and discovered that LLC is right form for me and my partner and we did everything ourselves, including bringing certified check to city hall.
I know exactly why I did everything I did and have trouble understanding need for something like this. I am developer, so I assume I am smart enough to understand basic things, I don't want to do law or accounting, but there are things you need to understand when you make decisions and be aware of consequences.
I wish I am as perfect as previous paragraphs describe, but I slip here and there, at least I know what and should be done.
Anyhow, this is my attitude and belief, I wish more people would believe in themselves and at least try to do things themselves.
One advantage I've noticed: our angel investors seem to like the standardization and quickness of Clerky. They know exactly what they're signing and there's less back and forth.
I could see clerky going far beyond corporate formation; this seems like just the first step. We used it at first to raise our first seed round, but we continue to add new investors and follow-ons through clerky, since the documents are the same. There are plenty of other flows they can help standardize.
Obscure mistakes in law are like mistakes in memory management - easy to make, easy to miss, can turn out very costly later on, or may not turn up at all.
For example, if you do not set up any vesting schedule and things turn sour with your cofounder, you will be in for a rude surprise when it's time t divvy up the business. But if you do set up vesting schedule and yet miss out on 83(b) rule you will be in for an even more rude surprise when the IRS demands the tax on money you don't have.
We totally get that people need to know what's going on - after you enter in your information on Clerky, you can actually view the generated documents for yourself before you go any further. Although you can't change anything in the form language right now, we're working on adding support for that (something you'd probably really want an attorney for). You won't be able to bring the check to city hall any more though :)
I know exactly why I did everything I did and have trouble understanding need for something like this. I am developer, so I assume I am smart enough to understand basic things, I don't want to do law or accounting, but there are things you need to understand when you make decisions and be aware of consequences.
I wish I am as perfect as previous paragraphs describe, but I slip here and there, at least I know what and should be done.
Anyhow, this is my attitude and belief, I wish more people would believe in themselves and at least try to do things themselves.