I’m often asked whether employees should have access to the company’s cap table.  The cap table is one of the most sensitive and critical documents in any startup.  At its most basic level, it lays out who owns what – founders, investors, employees, consultants. It typically contains information about outstanding shares, convertible instruments, pricing, valuation and ownership dilution. More complex cap tables may include formulas that model out various hypothetical transactions such as new funding rounds, sales of the company or public offerings, and may provide details on the holdings of each individual owner and each individual type of security.

Traditionally, access to the cap table is tightly controlled, with only a select few in the company being privy to its contents. However, as demands are made for more transparency, the question arises as to whether employees should have access to the cap table.Continue Reading Cap Table Confidential: Should Startup Employees Get a Peek?

The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank will have enormous repercussions for startups and VCs in ways seen and unseen.  As for the unseen, SVB had deep relationships among the various players in the venture ecosystem.  Founders and investors established banking relationships with SVB in part because of the opportunities SVB provided to network within the space.  It will be difficult for other lenders who don’t have these deep relationships to replace SVB in this capacity and fill this valuable role.Continue Reading Bumpy Ride Ahead for Startups After Silicon Valley Bank Crash

The impact of the Coronavirus and COVID-19 on venture capital investment will likely be similar to what we saw in the aftermath of the 2008 recession and the 2001 dot-com meltdown. VC investors will redirect their attention away from sourcing new deals and toward managing their existing portfolios, trying to determine which should survive and