Fundraising — Equity Fundraising & Cap Table
Running a raise well means more than getting a valuation right — it means investor materials that actually land, a term sheet reviewed by someone who's seen the terms before, and a cap table that stays clean through the close instead of becoming next round's problem. FMCA supports the process from seed through Series B, structuring what the round leaves behind, not just closing it.
Reviewed by FMCA's Senior Fundraising Advisory Team — supporting SME and startup capital raises across the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
Four areas of work, covering the raise itself and the ownership structure it leaves behind.
A pitch deck and supporting materials built around the numbers that actually hold up, not just a compelling narrative.
Liquidation preferences, anti-dilution provisions and board terms reviewed by someone who's seen what's market and what isn't.
A cap table that models dilution accurately across the round, including the option pool shuffle investors will expect before closing.
Closing documentation and the updated cap table finalized cleanly, so the next round starts from an accurate record, not a reconstruction project.
The mistakes that damage a cap table are rarely visible until the next round tries to build on top of them.
Liquidation preferences, anti-dilution provisions and board seats agreed to without understanding their real economic effect until the next round.
Miscalculated dilution or an incorrectly sized option pool surfaces as a dispute exactly when it's hardest to fix — mid-negotiation on the next round.
A raise run as a series of ad-hoc investor conversations, rather than a structured process, tends to drag on and lose momentum with every extra week.
Whatever the round produces, it has to survive the next round's diligence — see Investor Due Diligence for what that actually checks.
The two most common structures for early raises work best at different stages, not interchangeably.
Our Approach
A raise handled as a string of disconnected investor calls tends to drag and lose leverage. FMCA structures the process — materials, term sheet review, cap table modeling — as one coordinated engagement, so the round closes on schedule and the ownership structure it leaves behind is actually correct.
How We Work
Illustrative scenarios based on the kind of work we do — not descriptions of specific named clients.
Three prior SAFEs with different caps and discounts modeled together to show founders their true post-conversion dilution before negotiating the priced round.
An initial term sheet's liquidation preference was flagged as above market and renegotiated before signing, based on comparable recent rounds.
An informally tracked spreadsheet cap table with undocumented advisor grants was formalized and reconciled before the round closed.
Explore Further
Dedicated pages covering the full scope of related work — explore each in depth.
Related Insights
FAQ
SAFEs are typically faster and cheaper for pre-seed and early seed rounds, deferring the valuation question to a future priced round. Priced rounds are more common from seed extension onward, where an explicit valuation and formal terms are expected.
Stacked SAFEs modeled inconsistently, an incorrectly sized option pool, and undocumented advisor or early-employee grants are the most common sources of disputes during a later round's diligence.
Liquidation preference, anti-dilution provisions and board composition typically carry more long-term economic weight than the headline valuation number itself.
Investors often require the option pool to be created or topped up before the round closes, which dilutes existing shareholders — including founders — before new investor shares are even issued.
Across seed through Series B — the process and terms differ by stage, and we scope support to what your specific round actually requires.
Tell us where things stand and a senior consultant will get back to you directly — not a call centre.
