Tag: Equity

When a business outgrows the funding provided by angel investors it might seek more substantial investment from a Series A funding round. The Series A round is often a trigger for the conversion of convertible loan notes and an increase in the stock options pool. The Series A capitalization table is used to show the effect on the percentage ownership of a business following these changes.

When a business has outgrown funding from family and friends it might seek more substantial investment from business angels to fund for example product development, prototype production and market research. The angel investors cap table is used to show how the current shareholders, including the founders, are diluted by the introduction of this seed investment.

When a business is in its early stages and has perhaps developed an idea but does not yet have a working prototype of its product or traction and revenue, it often needs to be funded by outside investment capital from family and friends or other pre-seed investors. The pre-seed investors cap table can be used to demonstrate how the founders are diluted by the introduction of this outside investment.

A stock options pool is created by a startup business in order to set aside sufficient shares to enable it to build up, incentivize and retain a team of key personnel. The effect of the stock options pool is to dilute the existing shareholders.

The startup cap table is a record of who owns what percentage of the equity of a startup business. Prior to any investment it simply represents the ownership of the founders and any equity awarded to the team including employees, consultants, and advisers.