What is the Cap Table Guide?
The Cap Table Guide is the narrative companion to the MsingiLab Cap Table Template. It explains what a cap table actually tracks, why your ownership becomes harder to defend the longer you wait to formalize it, and the cap table disasters that have cost African founders their companies. The guide is written for founders raising pre-seed through Series A and the CFOs and operators preparing for diligence alongside them.
Who this is for and when to use it
African founders raising pre-seed through Series A, co-founders agreeing on equity splits, operators issuing options to early employees, and CFOs preparing for diligence. Use the guide at incorporation, before any term sheet conversation, before granting options, when adding advisors, and as a refresher before any fundraising round.
What is inside
A complete walkthrough of cap table mechanics: founder equity allocation, vesting schedules, share classes (common, preferred), option pools and the pre-money pool shuffle, SAFE versus convertible note math, priced round mechanics, anti-dilution provisions, liquidation preferences, and the African-specific considerations investors will probe. The guide also surfaces the cap table disasters founders only learn about after they have happened.
Key concepts you will learn
Common shares versus preferred shares, the option pool and pre-money option pool shuffle, fully diluted ownership, pre-money and post-money valuation, dilution math across rounds, anti-dilution provisions, liquidation preferences, the difference between SAFEs and convertible notes, founder vesting and cliffs, and how to keep your cap table investor-ready at any point in time.