Cap table skeleton
📋 Template · 🎯 Pre-incorporation → Series B · One spreadsheet, one tab per round
A clean cap table is non-negotiable for serious investors. The layout below moves rounds left-to-right, holders top-to-bottom, with fully-diluted at the bottom. Hand this in DD and you'll save a week.
The skeleton
CAP TABLE — [Company name] Last updated: [YYYY-MM-DD] · As-of date: [YYYY-MM-DD] Authorised shares: [number] · Issued: [number] · Reserved (ESOP): [number] ROW STRUCTURE ================================================================ Holder name Class Shares FD % Vested Notes ---------------------------------------------------------------- FOUNDERS [Founder 1] Common _______ ____% _______ 4yr / 1yr cliff, started [date] [Founder 2] Common _______ ____% _______ 4yr / 1yr cliff, started [date] SUBTOTAL _______ ____% ANGEL ROUND ([Date], [pre-money]) [Angel 1] SAFE post _______ ____% $___ at $___ post [Angel 2] SAFE post _______ ____% $___ at $___ post SUBTOTAL _______ ____% PRE-SEED ROUND ([Date], [pre-money]) [Investor 1] Pref Series Pre-Seed _______ ____% $___ at $___ post; 1× NP, BB-WAA [Investor 2] Pref Series Pre-Seed _______ ____% $___ at $___ post; pro-rata SUBTOTAL _______ ____% SEED ROUND ([Date], [pre-money]) [Lead investor] Pref Series Seed _______ ____% $___ at $___ post; lead, board seat [Co-investor 1] Pref Series Seed _______ ____% [Co-investor 2] Pref Series Seed _______ ____% SUBTOTAL _______ ____% ESOP POOL Granted (vested + unvested) _______ ____% _______ Available for grant _______ ____% ================================================================ FULLY-DILUTED TOTAL _______ 100.00% ================================================================ OPTION GRANTS DETAIL (separate tab) Holder Grant date Strike Vested Unvested Notes [Employee 1] [Date] $___ _______ _______ 4yr / 1yr cliff [Employee 2] [Date] $___ _______ _______ [Advisor] [Date] $___ _______ _______ 2yr, no cliff ROUNDS DETAIL (separate tab — one row per round) Round name Date Pre $ Post $ Raised Lead Instrument Liq pref Anti-dil Pre-seed ___ ___ ___ ___ [name] SAFE post — — Seed ___ ___ ___ ___ [name] Priced eq. 1× NP BB-WAA
The "investor's first 30 seconds" rule. When an investor opens your cap table, they want to see: total fully-diluted (footer), founder %, ESOP %, last round price. Make those four lines visible without scrolling.
Cap-table hygiene
- One source of truth. Pick a tool (Carta / Pulley / Capdesk / a clean Excel) and stop maintaining 4 versions.
- Fully-diluted always at the bottom. Investors check this number first; don't make them hunt.
- Show convertible & SAFE conversion at the next priced round. A separate tab shows pre/post-conversion. Investors want to see what their stake will look like.
- Plan ESOP before the round. Investors will require a topped-up pool. Pre-allocate the size in your draft cap table — saves negotiation friction.
The most-common cap-table errors
- Founder shares un-vested. (Investors will require vesting; you'll have lost negotiation room.)
- Stale "founders' agreement" with no signed equity allocation.
- Missing IP assignment from contractor who wrote your auth flow in 2023.
- "Friends & family" round with no instrument document. Convert to SAFE before raising institutional money.
- 14 angels with pro-rata rights. Cap pro-rata at investors above 5%.