Cap Table Builder

Cap Table Builder

Construye el cap table inicial de UN venture — founders, employee option pool, advisor pool, y convertible instruments (SAFEs, notes) con vesting schedule detallado. Es el complemento single-venture de venture-studio-toolkit:cap-table-per-venture (multi-venture portfolio).

⚠️ DISCLAIMER LEGAL

Cap tables tienen implicaciones legales + fiscales severas:

• 83(b) errors: irreversible (30 días desde grant, ver sweat-equity-agreement en venture-studio-toolkit)
• Cap table mal estructurado: VCs walk away en diligence
• SAFE cleanup: SAFEs piled up con términos inconsistentes = messy Series A

Este skill genera estructura de preparación, NO reemplaza:

• Corporate lawyer (draft de agreements)
• Cap table platform (Carta, Pulley, Cake Equity) para ejecución en producción
• Tax advisor / CPA
• Securities lawyer (fundraising specifics)

¿Cuándo usar este skill vs. el de venture-studio-toolkit?

Regla de idioma

Español. Términos equity mantenidos en inglés (SAFE, RSU, ISO, NSO, 83(b), QSBS, etc.) — convención industria US.

Directorio de salida

./launchpad/{startup-slug}/cap-table/
├── cap-table.md                  # Cap table structured document
├── vesting-schedule.md           # Per-grant vesting detail
├── safe-conversion-modeling.md   # Pre-priced-round SAFE conversion projections
└── grants-log.md                 # Append-only log de grants (audit trail)

Components del cap table

Security types esperados en early stage

Common stock (C-Corp) o Membership interests (LLC): founders + early employees

Preferred stock (Series Seed / Series A+): VCs institucionales post-priced-round

Convertible instruments (pre-priced-round):

• SAFEs (Simple Agreement for Future Equity) — Y Combinator standard, post-money desde 2018
• Convertible notes — debt con interest rate + maturity
• KISS (Keep It Simple Security) — alternativa less common

Options:

• ISOs (Incentive Stock Options) — tax-advantaged, solo empleados W-2 US
• NSOs (Non-qualified Stock Options) — menos tax-advantaged, cualquier service provider (contractors, advisors non-employee)

RSUs (Restricted Stock Units): promesa de shares en future milestones. Less common en seed stage (más típico post-Series A).

Pool sizing defaults (Series Seed-ready)

• Employee option pool: 10-15% fully diluted (pre-Series A standard)
• Advisor pool: 0.5-1% fully diluted total (typical 0.1-0.25% per advisor bajo FAST framework)
• Founder stock: remainder (típicamente 80-89% combined at first grant, pre-SAFEs)

Flujo del skill

Paso 1 — Entity type + jurisdiction

CTB-1: "¿Qué entity type es la venture?

• Delaware C-Corp (recomendado para VC-backed US ventures)
• Delaware LLC (pass-through taxation; limita priced rounds)
• Wyoming/Texas LLC (home-state US)
• LATAM entity (Costa Rica SRL, MX SAPI, Colombia SAS, etc. — limita herramientas + VCs internacionales)
• Cayman Exempted (Cayman Sandwich holding)
• Otro

Si ya tenés startup-profile.md generado por startup-intake, puedo leerlo para autodetectar."

Paso 2 — Founder grants

CTB-2: "Para cada founder:

• Nombre completo
• Rol (CEO / CTO / etc.)
• % fully diluted al grant (o número de shares si ya tenés un target total de shares authorized)
• Vesting period (default: 4 años)
• Cliff (default: 1 año)
• Vesting schedule type: monthly post-cliff / quarterly / milestone-based
• Grant date (usualmente incorporation date)
• 83(b) election status (si US C-Corp o LLC capital interest — ver sección downstream)"

CTB-2a — Authorized shares calculation:

• Default: 10,000,000 shares authorized (industry standard para early C-Corp)
• Fully diluted post-first-grant = 100% de authorized (founders + unallocated pools)
• Recommendation: issue founder shares at $0.00001 par value para minimizar tax at grant

Paso 3 — Option pool

CTB-3: "Option pool para empleados + advisors:

• Employee option pool: default 10% fully diluted
• Advisor pool: default 1% fully diluted (may overlap o ser separado)
• Pool refresh cadence: usualmente antes de Series A (pre-money expansion a 15%)
• Option type default: ISOs (si C-Corp con US employees), NSOs (para contractors/non-US)"

CTB-3a — Critical note: pool expansion pre-money diluye solo a founders (no al nuevo VC). VCs negocian pool expansion agresiva (20%) para protegerse del dilution post-round. Founders deberían negociar 10-12% (sufficient for 12-18 meses de hiring plan).

Paso 4 — Convertible instruments outstanding

CTB-4: "¿Hay SAFEs o convertible notes outstanding?

Por cada SAFE / note:

• Investor name
• Amount invested ($)
• Valuation cap (pre-money or post-money — default Y Combinator post-money SAFE)
• Discount rate (típico 0-20%; 20% si no hay cap)
• MFN (Most Favored Nation) clause — yes/no
• Date invested
• Conversion trigger (next qualifying financing, usualmente Series Seed/A)
• Para convertible notes solamente: interest rate (típico 2-8%), maturity (típico 18-24 meses)

Si no hay ninguno, skip a Paso 5."

Paso 5 — Vesting schedule generation

CTB-5: Para cada founder + option grant, generar vesting schedule detallado:

Acceleration clauses:

• Single trigger: al sale de company, todo unvested acelera
• Double trigger (más común): acelera solo si (a) sale Y (b) founder termination sin cause
• Default: double trigger para founders, none para employees

Paso 6 — SAFE conversion modeling

CTB-6: Si hay SAFEs outstanding, modelar conversión en 3 scenarios de next priced round:

1. Conservative: $2M @ $10M post-money
2. Expected: $3M @ $15M post-money
3. Optimistic: $5M @ $25M post-money

Para cada scenario:

• Shares que cada SAFE convierte a
• % post-round cada SAFE holder
• Founder dilution
• Employee pool status (refresh o no)

Calculation: post-money SAFE shares = investment / min(valuation_cap / total_shares_at_cap, priced_round_price * (1 - discount))

Paso 7 — 409a valuation requirement (C-Corp only)

CTB-7: Si es Delaware C-Corp:

• 409a valuation es regulatory requirement para emitir options bajo fair market value
• Frequency: annual O después de material change (round, acquisition offer)
• Providers + cost:
  • Carta (incluido en plan pagos ~$120+/mes)
  • Preferred Return (~$1,500 per valuation, standalone)
  • Aranca (~$2,000-5,000, institutional)
• Purpose: establece FMV del common stock para tax compliance

Si es LLC o non-US entity: skip.

Paso 8 — 83(b) election reminders

CTB-8: Para cada grant sujeto a vesting en US entity:

• Recordatorio 30 días post-grant para file 83(b)
• Ver venture-studio-toolkit:sweat-equity-agreement (sección 4) para reglas distintas por entity type:
  • C-Corp restricted stock: 83(b) crítico
  • LLC profits interest (Rev. Proc. 93-27 / 2001-43 safe harbor): 83(b) protective only
  • LLC capital interest: 83(b) crítico

Output template — cap-table.md

# Cap Table — [Startup Legal Name]

**As of**: YYYY-MM-DD
**Entity**: [Delaware C-Corp / Delaware LLC / Cayman Exempted / etc.]
**Total shares authorized**: X (typical 10,000,000 for C-Corp)
**Total shares issued**: Y
**Total fully diluted**: Z (= authorized post-first-grant)

## Cap table snapshot

| Shareholder | Security | Shares / % | Vesting status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [Founder 1] | Common | 4,500,000 (45% FDC) | 4yr / 1yr cliff, started YYYY-MM-DD, currently X% vested | 83(b) filed YYYY-MM-DD |
| [Founder 2] | Common | 3,500,000 (35% FDC) | 4yr / 1yr cliff, started YYYY-MM-DD, X% vested | 83(b) filed YYYY-MM-DD |
| Employee option pool | Options | 1,000,000 (10% FDC) | N/A until grant | ISO pool for US W-2 employees |
| Advisor pool | NSO | 100,000 (1% FDC) | Per FAST agreement | ≤3 advisors at 0.25-0.5% each |
| [SAFE 1: Angel Investor A] | SAFE | Converts to ~X shares (~Y%) at next round | Converts on next qualifying financing | $250k @ $8M post-money cap, 0% discount, MFN: no |
| [SAFE 2: Angel Investor B] | SAFE | Converts to ~X shares (~Y%) at next round | Converts on next qualifying financing | $150k @ $6M post-money cap, 20% discount, MFN: yes |
| **Total (pre-SAFE conversion)** | — | **10,000,000 (100% FDC)** | — | — |

**Note on SAFE %**: percentages pre-conversion are estimates. Actual dilution on priced round depends on round valuation + size.

---

## Vesting schedule summary

See `vesting-schedule.md` for per-grant detail.

| Founder | Total shares | 12-mo vested (cliff) | 24-mo | 36-mo | 48-mo (fully) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [Founder 1] | 4,500,000 | 1,125,000 | 2,250,000 | 3,375,000 | 4,500,000 |
| [Founder 2] | 3,500,000 | 875,000 | 1,750,000 | 2,625,000 | 3,500,000 |

**Acceleration**: double trigger (sale + termination without cause) — per founder agreement.

---

## SAFE conversion scenarios

See `safe-conversion-modeling.md` for detailed calculations.

| Scenario | Round size / post-money | F1 post-round % | F2 post-round % | SAFE 1 % | SAFE 2 % | New investor % | Pool refresh |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | $2M @ $10M | 32% | 25% | 3% | 2% | 20% | +5% pre-money |
| Expected | $3M @ $15M | 30% | 23% | 4% | 3% | 20% | +5% |
| Optimistic | $5M @ $25M | 33% | 26% | 3% | 2% | 20% | 0% (no refresh) |

## Key terms (documented)

- **Founders vesting**: 4-year, 1-year cliff, monthly post-cliff
- **Acceleration**: double trigger, 12-month acceleration if sale + without-cause termination
- **Employee options**: ISO, 10-year exercise term, early exercise allowed
- **83(b) elections filed**: [list of recipients + dates]
- **SAFE standard**: post-money (YC template v2018+)

## Red flags checklist

- [ ] All SAFE terms consistent (no conflicting MFN provisions that cascade)
- [ ] Total outstanding ≤ total authorized (Delaware C-Corp max is authorized per Certificate of Incorporation)
- [ ] All founders vesting tracked in a cap table platform (Carta / Pulley / Cake)
- [ ] 83(b) elections filed within 30 days for each grant (US entities only)
- [ ] Employee pool sufficient for 12-18 months of hiring plan
- [ ] No equity promised verbally without documentation (anti-pattern)
- [ ] Advisor grants ≤1% combined (avoid dilution from over-granting)

## Professional platform migration recommended

Move to **Carta**, **Pulley**, or **Cake Equity** when:

- 5+ total shareholders
- 2+ SAFE rounds closed
- 10+ employees with equity grants
- Pre-Series A planning phase (<12 meses antes de target raise)

Manual cap table in markdown works up to ~4-5 shareholders. Beyond that, errors compound exponentially (missed vesting dates, conversion math mistakes, 83(b) deadline miss).

## Next steps

1. File 83(b) elections for any founder grants (if US C-Corp or LLC capital interest)
2. Execute Founder Stock Purchase Agreements (see `founder-documents` skill)
3. File IP assignments (see `founder-documents`)
4. Set up cap table platform when threshold hit
5. Re-run this skill when material change occurs (new grant, new SAFE, priced round closing)

Integración con otras skills

• startup-intake: si ya existe startup-profile.md, auto-detect founders + team + funding from the profile section
• founder-documents (sibling): genera los agreements asociados a cada grant (Founder Stock Purchase Agreement, IP Assignment, Vesting Schedule Exhibit)
• venture-studio-toolkit:sweat-equity-agreement: referencia obligatoria para 83(b) tratamiento diferenciado C-Corp / LLC profits interest / LLC capital interest
• venture-studio-toolkit:cap-table-per-venture: upgrade path cuando el founder escala a multi-venture portfolio
• feature-to-spike: si durante uso se descubre UX pattern valioso para DojoOS Launchpad, generar SPIKE para William

Principios clave

• Cap table es source of truth único: NO múltiples versiones en Google Docs, emails, spreadsheets sueltos
• 83(b) en 30 días, irreversible: US C-Corp y LLC capital interest casi siempre lo requieren
• SAFE cleanup antes de Series A: piled-up SAFEs con terms inconsistentes = messy cap table; VCs scrutinize en diligence
• Pool refresh es negotiable: no aceptar 20% pre-Series A ciegamente; 10-12% suele ser suficiente para 12-18 meses
• Use professional tools cuando escales: Carta / Pulley / Cake para anything beyond trivial cap tables

Anti-patterns

• Founders sin vesting ("because we trust each other") — red flag VC mayor
• Equity prometida verbally sin documentation
• Grants sin 83(b) filing (deadline missed = ordinary income tax nightmare)
• Studio stake undocumented ("studio will get 25% later")
• SAFEs con MFN provisions que clash (cascading amendments)
• Over-granting advisors (>1% combined)
• Employee pool grants sin 409a valuation en C-Corp (tax compliance risk)

Recursos

• Carta — cap table platform más usado (carta.com)
• Pulley — competitor más barato early stage
• Cake Equity — especialmente bueno para global + Australia HQ
• Y Combinator — post-money SAFE templates — standard industry
• Cooley Go — Cap Table 101 — free education
• Venture Deals (Brad Feld / Jason Mendelson) — book on cap tables + VC term sheets (must-read for founders)
• IRS Rev. Proc. 93-27 / 2001-43 — LLC profits interest safe harbor (see venture-studio-toolkit:sweat-equity-agreement)