Equity Compensation
Resources, best practices, and expert insights on Equity Compensation.
A Guide to Startup Compensation
Get our startup compensation guide for first hires, with salary ranges, equity benchmarks, and tips on balancing cash, options, and burn for early-stage teams.
Dawn Snyder, DBA Candidate, MBA
When to File an 83(b) Election for Your Startup
Make sure that your company gets a favorable tax rate. Learn about the 83(b) election for shareholders as well as how and when to file. Read more.
Kruze Consulting
How to Read a Cap Table: A Startup Guide
Decode your cap table easily to understand ownership, dilution, option pools, and the impact of new rounds over time before signing terms.
Kruze Consulting
Venture Round Option Pool Dilution Calculator
Use Kruze's calculator to check on how your option pool will dilute founder ownership, and review information about setting up an option pool.
Kruze Consulting
What Is a Vesting Period for Startup Equity?
Set up equity vesting correctly—learn what a vesting period is, common startup schedules, cliffs, and why investors require them.
Kruze Consulting
What Is Founder Dilution in Startups?
Understand founder dilution—learn how rounds, option pools, and SAFEs change ownership and how to model dilution before you raise.
Kruze Consulting
Why Cheap 409A Valuations Are a Red Flag
Learn why cheap 409A valuations can hurt startup accounting, employee options, and future acquisitions, and why defensible valuations matter.
Bryan Long, MBA
How to Rebalance Ownership Between Founders
Rebalance founder ownership fairly—learn common equity re-splits, vesting fixes, and how to adjust the cap table without derailing morale.
Kruze Consulting
Why a Handshake Equity Agreement Isn't Enough
Kruze Consulting gives a guide for startup founders on how to make a handshake equity agreement legitimate, regarding equity grants.
Kruze Consulting
Balancing Salary with Equity
Balance founder pay and equity with guidance on salary, dilution, vesting, and sustainable long-term planning as you scale with confidence.
Bryan Long, MBA
What Is Cap Table Software?
Cap table software is a tool that helps startups track who owns what in the company, including founders, employees, and investors. It replaces messy spreadsheets with a single source of truth for shares, options, SAFEs, and other securities. By automating recordkeeping, vesting, reporting, and basic compliance, cap table software reduces errors, simplifies fundraising and audits, and gives stakeholders clear, up-to-date visibility into ownership and dilution.
Kruze Consulting
Why CPA Firms Need Access to Your Cap Table
Share your cap table with your CPA to speed reconciliation, tax filings, and Delaware franchise tax calculations at year-end close.
Kruze Consulting