In this episode of Venture Declassified, hosts Mike Kelly, Ben Pidgeon, and Jacob Schpok tackle one of the most overlooked—but most consequential—parts of startup investing: the cap table. From abandoned founder equity to a stack of mismatched SAFEs, the trio share war stories of cap tables that turn into what they like to call a “hot mess”—and why those messes can scare off the very investors a company needs most. Along the way, they unpack the mechanics behind dilution math, op...