Cap table

A cap table (capitalisation table) is the record of who owns what in your company: founders, investors, employees with options, and anyone holding convertible instruments waiting to turn into shares. At its simplest it's a spreadsheet of names and percentages, but it's the single most consequential document a founder maintains, because it dictates control, who gets paid in an exit, and how much room you have to raise again. For a lean founder, a clean, current cap table is non-negotiable. Errors compound: a forgotten SAFE, a mispromised option grant, or a handshake equity deal can surface years later and blow up a fundraise or an acquisition. Keep it on dedicated software once you have more than a handful of holders, model every new instrument's effect before you sign it, and never let it drift out of date. The cap table is the truth of who owns your work.