Equity 101: Founder, Employee and Advisor Equity - Capitalization Table and Equity Essentials

One of the first steps in forming a startup should undoubtedly be creating your cap table. Sounds simple, but cap tables can get complicated quickly. Without a good one, it’s far too easy to make bad equity decisions when raising money and hiring. Whether you’re new to this topic or need a refresher, it’s often best to learn from examples and the people that think about this every day. In the Equity 101 presentation, Gracie Arnold, business development manager at Carta, will walk you through a number of good and not-so-great examples, the fundamentals and framework to building an impressive cap table. Carta’s experts will share how a well-managed cap table can help you determine, negotiate, and track ownership stakes as your company grows. Current trends in fundraising and Q&A will conclude the session.

What you’ll learn:

• Equity Essentials basics: How to use your cap table to make smart fundraising and hiring decisions
• How founders should be thinking about cap tables in today’s climate
• The most common cap table mistakes, the effects, and how to avoid them.

Carta is a platform that allows private companies — from formation through IPO — to manage their equity electronically with the participation of their shareholders, employees, auditors, and legal counsel. They’ve built tools and systems that help mitigate compliance risks, reduce inaccuracies, and consolidate equity administration processes.

About Gracie Arnold

Gracie is a business development manager at Carta, focusing on both the Canada and LatAm markets. In her current role, Gracie works with law firms, VCs, service providers, and technology companies to build partnerships and drive awareness. During her nearly 5 years at Carta, Gracie served as a technical account manager for several of Carta’s largest clients, many of whom had employees and investors across the world.

Prior to joining Carta, Gracie worked at Madrona Ventures Group. Gracie hold a BA in international Relations from Texas State University.