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Blog Tag: Startup Companies

Adv. Ken Shaked

Comments and Insights on the Capital Structure of Startup Companies

July 29, 2021 / by Ken Shaked

In the regular corporate world, the capital structure of a company usually means the ratio between the company’s equity (money the company’s owners invested in it) and debt capital (external funding injected into the company by banks and other loans). For technology companies, however, the term “capital structure” usually refers to the division of the company’s ownership among the entrepreneurs and investors subsequent to the investment rounds in the company. Thus, holding 50 shares of a “regular” company that has 1,000 issued shares represents ownership of 5% of the company’s shares and entitlement to receive 5% of its distributable profits. However, if you hold 50 shares of a tech startup company that has 1,000 issued shares, this does not necessarily mean you are entitled to receive 5% of the proceeds in the event of an “exit” and the startup’s sale to a third party. Over the years, investors and entrepreneurs in startup companies have developed ownership structures that bear no resemblance to the ownership formula used in “regular” companies.

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