EquityList · Starting Up

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✓ Link checked India Free Beginner

Why we picked it Written by EquityList, the India-based cap table platform, so it speaks to founders managing ESOP pools and dematerialised shares under Indian norms, not just Delaware C-corps. It walks a two-founder company round by round with real percentages (about 71 percent held post-seed, 57 percent post-Series A, 46 percent post-Series B, 36 percent post-Series C) so you can see exactly where the option pool and each raise leave you. That forward view is the whole point: if your model puts two founders in single digits by Series B, you are raising too much too early or on bad terms.

Founder Ownership by Round: How Equity Dilution Really Works

From EquityList by EquityList 12 min read

Concrete post-round ownership walk-through: ~71% post-seed, ~57% post-A, ~46% post-B for a two-founder cap table
The option pool is usually carved out pre-money at Series A, so it dilutes founders, not the new investor: negotiate its size
Indian founders should track this alongside ESOP grants and FLA/dematerialisation compliance, not as an afterthought

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Answers How much of my company should I still own after seed, Series A, and beyond?

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✓ Link checked India Free Intermediate

Why we picked it Written by an India-based cap table platform, so the modeling assumptions match how Indian founders actually raise. It walks a concrete stack (a $250K SAFE at $5M cap = 5%, then a $500K SAFE at the same cap = 10%) to show you giving away 15% before Series A even opens, then models the Series A on top so you see founder equity drop from 85% to roughly 64%. This is the ownership-percentage-that-the-cap-implies math the answer is pointing at, done for you.

Modeling Post-Money SAFEs in Your Cap Table: Tools and Mistakes to Avoid

From EquityList by EquityList 12 min read

Post-money SAFEs concentrate all dilution on founders and existing shareholders, unlike pre-money SAFEs where SAFE holders share the hit
Stacking SAFEs without modeling the cumulative percentage is the classic mistake: 5% plus 10% is 15% gone before your priced round
SAFEs also move your 409A valuation and employee option pool, so the cost is bigger than the cap number alone suggests

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Answers Post-money SAFE or pre-money SAFE: which one am I actually signing and why does it matter?

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✓ Link checked India Free Beginner

Why we picked it EquityList runs cap tables and ESOP admin for Indian startups, so this places MFN inside the instrument choices an Indian founder actually faces. It states the mechanic cleanly (if a future SAFE gets a lower cap or bigger discount, MFN holders can adopt it) and, crucially, frames the India reality: SAFEs are not native to Indian company law, so you are usually running convertible notes (DPIIT-recognized startup, minimum 25 lakh cheque), where the same most-favored logic applies to the cap and discount you can later offer.

SAFEs vs. Convertible Notes

From EquityList by EquityList 12 min read

In India you are typically issuing convertible notes, not US SAFEs (DPIIT recognition and a 25 lakh minimum apply), but the MFN backward-repricing risk on cap and discount carries over unchanged
MFN means any better term you later grant can be claimed by earlier holders, which directly narrows the room you have to sweeten a bridge or close a reluctant investor
Read every early instrument's conversion mechanics side by side before your next raise, because MFN plus pro-rata rights compound founder dilution when they all converge on the most protective terms

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Answers What is an MFN clause in a SAFE and how can it come back to bite me?

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✓ Link checked India Free Beginner

Why we picked it The single clearest explanation of the two documents Indian founders confuse: the founders' agreement (equity, vesting, roles, IP, departure, signed at or before incorporation) versus the shareholders' agreement (investor voting rights, drag/tag, reserved matters, signed at your raise). It nails the timing rule that trips people up: sign before shares are issued, because you cannot bolt vesting onto already-issued shares without every founder consenting. It is blunt that IP a founder built before incorporation belongs to that founder personally until a formal IP Assignment moves it to the company, which is exactly what breaks a diligence during your first term sheet.

Founders' Agreement: Definition, Key Clauses, and Template for Indian Startups

From EquityList by EquityList 15 min read

Founders' agreement governs the co-founder relationship; the shareholders' agreement layers in investor protections later, they are not the same document
Sign at or before incorporation and always before shares are issued, or vesting cannot be applied retroactively
Pre-incorporation IP stays with the individual founder until a formal IP Assignment Agreement transfers it to the company

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Answers What should go in a co-founder agreement, and when do we actually sign it? How do we divide roles and decision-making so we don't step on each other? One co-founder wrote most of the code before we incorporated. Who owns that IP, and how do we make sure the company does? Do I really need a lawyer and a formal shareholders agreement, or is a signed founders agreement on paper enough for now? How do I split equity and put a vesting schedule in place at incorporation? What is a founders' agreement and what must it actually cover?

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✓ Link checked India Free Intermediate

Why we picked it This draws the exact line you are asking about with Indian numbers: a late-joining co-founder lands at 20 to 40 percent, while even a pre-seed CXO gets 1 to 3 percent and a senior individual contributor 0.2 to 0.7 percent, all out of a 10 to 15 percent ESOP pool. Put your candidate on that scale and the gap between founder equity and an ESOP grant becomes impossible to blur with a title. It also covers the India-specific mechanics: pool sizing, board and shareholder approvals, and vesting under Indian company law.

ESOP 101: How to Set Up Your ESOP Pool as an Indian Company

From EquityList by EquityList 18 min read

Late co-founders (joining 6-plus months in) sit at 20 to 40 percent; if you are offering under 20 percent, they are an early employee, not a co-founder.
Early hires draw from a 10 to 15 percent ESOP pool: CXOs 1 to 3 percent, senior ICs 0.2 to 0.7 percent, junior roles under 0.2 percent.
Indian ESOP grants need formal board and shareholder approval and standard 4-year vesting with a 1-year cliff, so plan the paperwork, not just the percentage.

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Answers Should I give a co-founder equity or a salary if they join after I've already started?

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✓ Link checked India Free Intermediate

Why we picked it This is the India-specific playbook for exactly your situation: it names full-time versus part-time commitment as a reason to weight the split unequally, and then shows you where that gets written down under Indian law (the founders' agreement plus the SHA, with vesting and leaver provisions, and the Register of Members under the Companies Act, 2013). It also tells you to build in a formal re-split process for when the part-timer's commitment changes, which is precisely the trigger you are trying to pre-agree.

Co-Founder Equity Split in India: How to Decide, Document, and Protect It

From EquityList by EquityList 15 min read

Full-time versus part-time commitment at founding is a legitimate reason to split unequally, do not default to 50/50.
The split and vesting must live in the founders' agreement and the SHA, and be reflected in the statutory Register of Members, or investors will flag it in diligence.
Agree a formal process now to revisit the split and vesting when a founder's commitment materially changes, so the part-timer going full-time is documented, not argued about later.

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Answers How do we structure equity when one co-founder is full-time and the other is keeping their day job for now?

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✓ Link checked India Free Intermediate

Why we picked it This is the exact playbook for a Pvt Ltd founder: the eight sequential approvals in order, from checking your AoA permits ESOPs, to the board resolution, the 21-day shareholder notice, the ordinary-resolution vote, filing MGT-14 within 30 days, issuing grant letters, and maintaining the SH-6 register. It also lists the 15 clauses your scheme document must carry (vesting, separation treatment, clawback), so nothing gets skipped in due diligence.

ESOP Scheme in India: Definition, Structure, and Filing Guide

From EquityList by EquityList 18 min read

Your ESOP is not real until the board approves the scheme, shareholders pass the resolution, and you file Form MGT-14 with the RoC within 30 days
A grant only exists once a signed grant letter states the option count, exercise price, vesting schedule, and expiry; verbal promises carry zero legal weight
You must maintain a Register of Employee Stock Options in Form SH-6, and missing it puts the company in regulatory default

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Answers How do I set up an ESOP pool and grant equity to my early employees legally?