Cap Table
A spreadsheet tracking every shareholder, their share counts, and ownership percentages.
Definition
A capitalization table (cap table) is the definitive record of who owns what in a company. It lists all shareholders, their share types (common, preferred, options, warrants, SAFEs), share counts, and ownership percentages on a fully diluted basis. Cap tables become complex quickly as a company raises multiple rounds and grants employee equity.
Why it matters
The cap table determines your actual ownership percentage. Ask for the total fully diluted share count when evaluating an offer so you can calculate what your option grant represents. Without this, your share count is meaningless.
Example
A cap table shows: founders own 6M shares (60%), Series A investors own 2M shares (20%), option pool is 1.5M shares (15%), and SAFEs will convert into 500K shares (5%). Total fully diluted: 10M shares.