EQUITY, ESOPs & FUNDRAISING

You didn't get diluted because you raised too much. You got diluted because no one explained the math before you signed.

Most Indian founders walk into their first term sheet, ESOP discussion, or Series A negotiation knowing less than the VC across the table. That's not a knowledge gap — it's a leverage gap.

This guide closes it.

EQUITY, ESOPs & FUNDRAISING: A Founder's Honest Playbook breaks down everything that determines who actually owns your company — in plain English, India-specific, written the way one founder would explain it to another over coffee.

After reading this, you'll know exactly:

• How shares, dilution, and cap tables actually work — and how to read yours
• What an ESOP pool is, how to structure it, and the India-specific rules that matter
• How to run a fundraise from first pitch to closing docs — without getting burned on terms you didn't understand
• What investors look for during due diligence, and how to prepare before they ask
• How valuation is calculated, negotiated, and why the headline number isn't what you think
• How to read a term sheet — clause by clause — before you sign anything
• Practical templates and frameworks you can use the same week

No jargon walls. No academic theory. Just the real mechanics of startup ownership.

Built for:

• First-time founders preparing to raise their first round
• Startup operators navigating ESOPs and equity conversations with their team
• Early-stage teams who want to understand what they actually own
• Anyone who's nodded along in a term sheet meeting and Googled it after

At ₹1,199 — less than one hour of a startup lawyer's time — this is the briefing you should have had before your first investor meeting.

Pay once. Download instantly. Keep it forever.