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  • Carpenter Phillips posted an update 1 year, 11 months ago

    A simple cap table is the plain term used to explain the method of calculating exact values each debt holder and shareholder will receive upon any liquidation occasion of the business (e.g. an acquisition, an IPO, or an spin out). Basically it’s just a series of simple mathematical equations where you apply the different transaction terms to the given cap table in order to flow through to the payout to all shareholders. It’s a great way to determine the amount of cash to pay out to each person, but unfortunately very hard to understand for the average business owner. This article hopes to fill that need by providing some simple explanation about the basic concept of a simple cap table.

    So what is a simple cap table? Essentially, it’s simply a spreadsheet that tracks the ownership interest of each of your shares of stock. In the simplest form of this type of spreadsheet, you simply follow the asset owner’s purchase price, as it relates to their net worth, and then multiply that net worth times the individual’s net shares of ownership in order to calculate the exact amount of cash they receive upon selling their shares. Some investors may prefer to use simplified cap tables instead of the more traditional mathematical forms, simply because they can more easily fit the numbers into their investing plans. However, there is one major drawback to simplified cap tables – they don’t provide any insight into a company’s management structure or how those assets are actually used. Unless you know exactly what you’re looking for, you might miss on some very profitable and viable opportunities.

    The simple cap table template is one method of tracking a company’s ownership structure and how that ownership is divided up amongst the different holders of ownership interests. Each dividend received by a company’s common share holders is reported individually, by category, then by share ownership interest. Some companies have complicated dividend reinvestment programs in place, which allow you to gain even more insight into the assets of a company and how those assets are being utilized. These types of reinvestment programs can be extremely effective and can often yield extremely lucrative results, but they must be properly monitored and implemented for maximum results. A simple cap table can help you track these reinvestment programs and help you determine whether or not they are maximizing the potential profits that a particular company can realize from them.

    There are several different types of dividends and most investors don’t have the time or knowledge to decipher the details of each one. A cap table is designed to track the conversion of warrants into common stock ownership and the conversion of stocks into preferred stock ownership. The purpose of a cap table is to give you a visual representation of how conversion of one type of security into another will affect the overall value of your portfolio. For example, if you have 100 shares of stock and you were to purchase two different warrants for the same stock. One of these warrants would be for an unlimited amount and the other would be a convertible note.

    Cap table Dilution is a type of dilution that is designed to reduce the financial risk that the investors experience on their own portfolios. Cap tables allow investors to easily calculate what their portfolio would look like if all of their investments were liquidated and all of their securities were sold at once. This is very useful for people who would like to do a liquidity test on their portfolio and also allows investors to keep track of how many rounds of financing have been completed. Cap tables can be extremely helpful for new investors as well as experienced entrepreneurs. New investors may not have the experience necessary to accurately assess how many rounds of financing will be necessary for their business to grow.

    Another option that you may want to consider for a startup company is stock options. Options are available in a variety of types and may be purchased, sold, or simply held. These rights give the owner the right to buy or sell a specified number of shares of stock at an exercise price. It is important to understand that the price cannot exceed the book value of the stock.

    Stock option pooling allows multiple investors to pool funds together and purchase a large number of shares of a stock at once. If for instance, a new investor wants to purchase five thousand shares of Google stock. They could pool their money with two other investors who each have five thousand shares. Each of these investors could have a different option in place to purchase a specified number of shares.

    As an investor, you want to make sure that you have enough authorized shares to cover the total number of shares that you are seeking to buy at any given point in time. If your startup company is worth ten million dollars and you purchase just six hundred thousand shares, you will need to have additional funding to cover your investment. In this example, your broker will offer you a convertible note which is a loan from your brokerage to pay for the total number of shares. The convertible note converts into ordinary shares and you can then sell these shares to raise capital.