Co-founder vesting is the single cheapest insurance policy a startup can buy, and the one founders skip most often. Two people split the equity 50-50 on day one, shake hands, and start building. Eighteen months…
Key Takeaways Financial due diligence is not an audit. Investors are not checking whether your books are clean for the tax department. They are checking whether the story you told them in the pitch is…
Most founders treat their ESOP as a single decision. They carve out a pool when an investor asks for one, hand out a few grants, and move on. Then, two rounds later, the pool is…
Key Takeaways A cap table that reconciles in Excel is not the same as a cap table that survives due diligence. Six structural issues commonly hide inside what founders describe as "clean". The most expensive…
Key Takeaways Series A due diligence typically reviews 80 to 100 documents across 8 categories: corporate, financial, tax, regulatory, IP, HR, commercial, and compliance. Most Indian startups have 30 to 40 of these ready when…
"Can you share your data room?" This is the first thing every serious investor says after the pitch. And most founders scramble. After reviewing 40+ data rooms in the last year, one pattern is clear:…
"How much equity should I give my CTO?" This is the single most common question founders ask us at A S Banka Advisors Private Limited. After structuring ESOP plans for 50+ Indian startups, we compiled…
Your cap table is the single most important financial document in your startup. It determines who owns what, how much you dilute at each round, and whether your company passes due diligence when you actually…
You want to retain your best people. You've heard about ESOPs. Maybe someone mentioned Phantom Stock. Your CA says "just do ESOPs" because that's what everyone does. Here's the problem: "what everyone does" is exactly…
The Cap Table "Red Flag" Check I’ve seen Term Sheets get pulled at the last minute, not because the product was bad, but because the Cap Table was "uninvestable." Founders obsess over their Pitch Deck…
