Cap Table

StartupMode helps you track equity ownership and cap table data in one place. Cap table setup and management happens in the Company Profile and Equity Certificates areas; what people see depends on their role.

Who sees what

Super Admins and Admins (founders / org admins)

• Company Profile (Organization → Company Profile): Only Super Admins can open and edit this page. Here you define:
  • Company identity (legal name, country, incorporation date, address, tax ID)
  • The equity “pie”: Total Authorized Shares, ESOP Pool (%), and Current Valuation
  • ESOP plan name and effective date
• Equity Certificates (Organization → Equity Certificates): Super Admins (and Admins with the right permission) can issue and manage share certificates, and see the full cap table context (who holds what, pool utilization).
• History & Reports: Admins can see the full audit trail of equity-related changes and exports.

So: Super Admins/Admins see and manage the full cap table, company profile, and all certificates. They are the only ones who can change authorized shares, ESOP pool, valuation, or issue new certificates.

Members (team members)

• My Equity (member area): Members see only their own equity:
  • Vesting summary (vested, issued, available shares; months served)
  • ESOP pool context at a high level (e.g. utilization, remaining balance) so they understand how their slice fits
  • Issued certificates and PDF downloads for their own certificates
• Members do not see:
  • The Company Profile (legal details, tax ID, banking, or who else holds what)
  • The full cap table (everyone’s holdings)
  • Who was issued which certificate besides their own

Transparency without exposure

Members see the company name, their own shares, and the current share price (from valuation). They do not see other people’s allocations or sensitive company data unless you make them an Admin.

How the whole flow works

The cap table flow in StartupMode runs from company setup to what each member sees. Here it is step by step.

1. Set up the Company Profile (Super Admin only)

A Super Admin (founder) goes to Organization → Company Profile and fills in:

• Company identity: Legal name, country, incorporation date, address, and optionally tax ID.
• Total Authorized Shares: The total number of shares the company can issue (e.g. 10,000,000).
• ESOP Pool (%): The percentage reserved for the team (e.g. 10–20%).
• Current Valuation: Used to derive share price so the app can show members the value of their slice.
• ESOP plan: Plan name and effective date for the equity incentive plan.

This defines the “pie” and the rules. Changes here (e.g. total shares or valuation) can affect everyone’s displayed value, so the app notifies Admins and Members when important fields are updated.

2. Issue Equity Certificates (Super Admin or Admin)

Once the Company Profile and ESOP pool are set, Super Admins (or Admins with certificate-issuance permission) use Organization → Equity Certificates to:

• Create share certificates for founders and team members.
• Allocate from the ESOP pool; the system checks that requests stay within pool limits and available balance.
• Issue certificates so they appear in the member’s My Equity and can be downloaded as PDFs.

Only after a certificate is issued do those shares “leave” the pool and show as issued for that person.

3. History & Reports (audit trail)

Admins use History & Reports to see the full audit trail of equity-related actions: what changed, when, and by whom. This supports compliance and internal clarity.

4. What members see (My Equity)

Members go to My Equity in the member area. There they see:

• Vesting summary: How many shares have vested, how many are issued, and how many are still available to be issued for them.
• ESOP pool context: High-level view of pool utilization and remaining balance (organization-level context, not other people’s individual holdings).
• Certificates: Their own issued certificates and links to download the official PDFs.

They never see the full cap table, other members’ allocations, or the Company Profile.

Summary

Who	Can see / do
Super Admin	Full Company Profile (view + edit), full cap table, issue and manage all Equity Certificates, History & Reports.
Admin	Same as above if they have the right permissions; otherwise access to certificates and reports as configured.
Member	Only My Equity: own vesting, own certificates, PDF downloads, and high-level pool context. No Company Profile, no full cap table.

Cap table setup and management is done in Company Profile and Equity Certificates; members only see their own equity and pool context in My Equity.