Understanding how a Cap-table works – a 101 series

A cousin in college wanted to understand a cap-table.

For some reason, she thought I was a VC. I am not. At least not yet!

Here is a 101 thread of how a cap-table (capitalization table) works

#1What – A cap-table (capitalization table) is the list of securities (stock, convertible notes, equity…) the company has issued and who owns what.

#2When – Typically used privately by private companies to provide information on a company’s investors and market value. It lists names and groups of investor(s), stockholders and founders against what they own and how much

#3Who uses it – Commonly used by start-ups and early stage businesses. It can be used though by all – its essentially then a breakdown of the company’s shareholder equity.

#4Why do startup’s need one? To answer who owns how much of the company. Its important because it impacts the fund-raising rounds and determines the decision makers.

#5How does it look like? In the simplistic version, it is a spreadsheet though there are software for it too. Below is an example of a cap-table template.

Did I miss anything?

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Ranjani Mani

#startups #reviewswithranjani

#captable

#101series

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