Uncover Cap Table Deficiencies and Risk Signals
The founder conducts a critical stress test of the cap table to isolate ambiguous ownership entries, dead equity risk, missing legal agreements, or overly aggressive valuation assumptions. They list all flagged vulnerabilities and outline corrective measures or expert legal interventions needed.
Uncovering cap table flaws early prevents catastrophic deal-breaking issues during formal investor due diligence. It gives the founder clear direction on whether to resolve minor data gaps internally or escalate complex equity issues to legal specialists.
A prioritised risk log detailing every weak assumption, missing legal document, unallocated equity risk, or unmodelled scenario. Each identified risk must include a concrete remediation step and target completion date.
Five questions an expert would ask when reviewing your output
Use these to challenge assumptions, pressure-test your logic, and check the quality of this action's output in the context of the parent task and wider venture development.
- 1
What risk does dead equity from former founders or advisors pose to your ability to close your next funding round?
- 2
Why have you left secondary sales or pro-rata rights unmodelled for major early-stage investors?
- 3
How would an unexpected valuation down-round break your current ownership and governance structure?
- 4
Where are you missing formal IP assignment agreements for team members currently holding or slated to receive equity?
- 5
What legal or tax exposure exists due to unfinalised option scheme documentation or unapproved share valuations?