FounderFunds

Inspiration

I tried to file R and D in the past and it was confusing, a pain in the ass, and ultimately I didn't do it. So I thought that if there was more information and it was less complex of a process, I would have done it which is what I hope other founders do.

What it does

FounderFunds helps tech founders who just raised turn engineering payroll into R&D tax credit cash. Answer seven questions to see what you’re owed (about $7,400 per engineer a year), connect GitHub to turn commits into dated proof of R&D, then follow a step-by-step guide to a filed claim, either with your own CPA or with a filing partner.

How we built it

A static site in plain JavaScript on GitHub Pages, with no backend. It uses public data from the IRS, Census, USAspending, Grants.gov and the GitHub API. The estimator follows the current 2026 tax rules, and every number is labeled as live data, a saved snapshot, or our own model.

Challenges we ran into

The best IRS data is years old, the tax rules changed in 2025 and 2026, and most state credits are worth nothing in cash to an unprofitable startup. Getting the numbers right meant making them smaller but honest. I also had to build fallbacks so the demo works even when a government or GitHub data source isn’t reachable.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Turning a GitHub commit history into dated audit evidence and a draft tax form in minutes. The full path from “am I owed anything?” to a filed claim takes about an hour of a founder’s time, and nothing leaves the browser without an explicit opt-in.

What we learned

Startups don’t miss this money because they aren’t eligible. They miss it because of paperwork and deadlines. The evidence they need is already in their GitHub, with dates.

What's next for FounderFunds

Private repos and project-tracker tickets (Linear, Jira), a finder for credits missed in past years, and partnerships with VCs and accelerators. Revenue comes from filing-partner referrals first, then documentation software.

Built With

• claude-code
• github