How should I manage investor relations?

A Cap Table, or Capitalization Table, is a detailed spreadsheet or document that outlines the equity ownership, types of shares, and ownership percentages of a company. It includes information on founders, investors, and employees, as well as the dilution of shares over time through various funding rounds and option grants.

In the context of debt, a covenant is a clause in a loan agreement or bond indenture that imposes certain conditions or restrictions on the borrower. Covenants are designed to protect the interests of lenders by ensuring that the borrower maintains a certain level of financial health and operates within agreed parameters. These conditions can be financial (financial covenants) or operational (non-financial covenants) and are critical in debt agreements to mitigate risk.

Preferred stock is a class of ownership in a corporation that has a higher claim on assets and earnings than common stock. Preferred shareholders receive dividends before common shareholders and have priority in the event of liquidation, but they typically do not have voting rights.

Pro rata rights give an investor a contractual option to join a future financing to seek to maintain ownership; statutory pre-emption rights are separate and jurisdiction-dependent.

A private equity fund is a pooled private investment vehicle that deploys investor capital under a defined strategy, governance structure and fund agreement.

A waterfall structure is a financial model used to distribute returns among different classes of investors in a hierarchical manner. It specifies the order and priority in which investors receive returns, typically used in private equity, venture capital, and real estate investments.