Most founders choose a cap table provider early in their company’s journey. But as the company grows, that decision becomes more important. Your provider is no longer just tracking ownership. It may also support future funding rounds, employee equity, valuations, and eventually liquidity.
That question is especially relevant in 2026. With Pulley exiting the market, many founders are now evaluating what they actually need from their next cap table provider.
I recently sat down with Dr. Jeremy Weisz, co-founder of Rise25, to discuss exactly that: what founders should look for in a cap table provider, why software alone is no longer enough, and how valuation is becoming a bigger part of equity management.
Key Takeaways
- Core cap table software is becoming commoditized, making expertise beyond ownership tracking increasingly important.
- Early-stage founders should start with a free plan and save cash for growth.
- Fast, human support matters most when you issue stock.
- Choose a provider that can handle future rounds, larger option pools and more stakeholders.
- The cap table market has seen significant consolidation, making a provider’s long-term direction another factor worth considering.
How Has the Role of Cap Table Platforms Changed?
The first cap table tools did one thing. They digitized ownership. Solium started the space in Canada in the mid-2000s, and many more players followed in the early 2010s.
When Jeremy asked me how the market has changed, my answer was simple:
“The cap table became practically commoditized. So for cap table companies, you need to look for a better angle, not just management or administration.”
For us at Eqvista, it’s the valuation and how we can help tell the value story of every single startup.
What Should Founders Look for in a Cap Table Provider?
It depends on your stage. But these four things matter for almost every founder.
1. A Free Plan When You Are Early
Every dollar counts at the start. I am a big believer in bootstrapping. That is why our free plan covers up to 20 stakeholders, with option pools, vesting schedules and account access for every shareholder. For most early founders, that is all they need.
2. Support That Answers Fast
When you issue shares, questions can come up quickly. You need a provider that can give you answers when you need them.
“That should definitely be someone who can answer within a few hours or even two minutes. That’s crucial.”
3. A Platform That Grows With You
Your needs change after every round. Your provider should support future equity rounds, larger option pools and more stakeholders. We recently onboarded a client with 10,000 stakeholders, close to pre-IPO scale.
4. Real Valuation Expertise
Employees love to see their company’s value go up. Investors and auditors want that value defended. Your provider has to understand how the market values your company, and there should be real people behind that valuation.
“There’s nothing more important than a bank account for a startup. And then the second thing is the value of the company.”
How Much Does a Cap Table Provider Cost?
Eqvista offers free cap table management for up to 20 stakeholders, while annual 409A valuation plans start at $990 and include cap table management. You can see the full breakdown on our pricing page. The goal is to never hit early founders with a $3,000 or $4,000 bill before they are ready.
What Is Real-Time Company Valuation?
Private company valuations usually happen at fixed points in time. We wanted to change that with Eqvista Real-Time Company Valuation®.
I keep it simple. Think of it like a stock ticker for a public company, but for private companies. Instead of seeing value only at specific valuation dates, founders can follow how their company’s value changes over time and use that context with employees and investors.
Eqvista Real-Time Company Valuation® currently covers approximately 65,000 U.S. private companies, representing 95% of the market and approximately $9 trillion in private-market assets.
What Pulley’s Exit Means for Companies Choosing a Provider
I recently wrote a LinkedIn post called Cap Table Companies Don’t Last. The title was deliberately provocative, but the point was about a broader pattern in the cap table market: many well-known providers have been acquired or changed ownership as the industry has evolved.
That was also the framing for our discussion about Pulley. Capshare, Solium, Shareworks and Global Shares are all examples of how the market has changed over time. Pulley’s exit is the latest development prompting companies to think again about where their ownership records, equity plans and future valuation needs should live.
For founders evaluating their next provider, that makes the questions above even more relevant. Look beyond basic cap table features. Consider the support you will receive, whether the platform can grow with your company, and what additional expertise you may need as your equity becomes more complex.
For us at Eqvista, Pulley’s exit is an opportunity to help companies looking for a new home for their cap table. But I believe the right approach is to make switching easier rather than aggressively pursue customers during a difficult transition.
As I explained in the conversation:
“It’s an opportunity. Yes. But the opportunity in the product, not the one-time marketing.”
How We Are Helping Pulley Customers
I have seen some providers go after Pulley customers aggressively, even in the comments on the founder’s LinkedIn post. That is not how I want Eqvista to approach it. My job is to build an offer that makes the transition as easy and frictionless as possible.
For companies moving from Pulley to Eqvista, we currently offer:
- Get the rest of your Pulley term added free, so you do not pay twice for your cap table platform
- Save 30% off your current Pulley invoice
- Year-2 price lock
- White-glove migration at no charge
- Migration in as little as 1–5 business days
- Dedicated migration specialist
- Unlimited 409A updates
- Lifetime audit support
- We’ll defend your Pulley 409As
You can learn more about the full offer and migration process on our Switch from Pulley to Eqvista page.
Choose a Cap Table Provider That Grows With You
Choosing a cap table provider is about more than recording who owns what. The right platform should support your company as it grows, from your first stock issuances and option pool to future funding rounds, valuations and more complex equity needs.
As I explained in my conversation with Jeremy:
“If you go to the grocery shop and you want to buy something and you don’t understand what it costs, it’s a big problem, right?”
The same principle applies to private company equity. Knowing who owns what matters. Understanding what that ownership is worth matters too.
Eqvista supports more than 25,000 companies, from early-stage startups to pre-IPO businesses, with cap table management, 409A valuations and Eqvista Real-Time Company Valuation®, backed by our in-house valuation team.
For more information, contact our team or reach me directly at [email protected].
If you want to go deeper into valuations, watch my earlier conversation with Jeremy on what a 409A valuation is.
Episode Transcript
If you are a founder choosing or switching cap table providers, this conversation is for you. Below is the full transcript of my conversation with Dr. Jeremy Weisz on cap table management, valuations and the future of equity management.
Dr. Jeremy Weisz: 00:06
I’m excited to speak with Tomas Milar of Eqvista, and we’re going to talk about beyond the cap table, right, the future of startup equity management. And there’s a lot, you know, Tomas, there’s always a lot going on. Okay. In this particular arena. But for years, really, founders have thought about cap table software primarily as a way to keep track of who owns what in their company. Right? But as private companies grow, that’s becoming only one piece of a much bigger picture.
And so today I want to talk about where the cap table market is heading, what founders should actually look for when choosing a provider and why things like 401, 409A valuations, real-time valuation and private market liquidity are becoming increasingly connected. So let’s start with the big picture for a second. And we’ll talk about how we’ll get into these details. But how has the role of cap table platforms changed?
Tomas Milar 01:12
Jeremy. Hey. Hi. Thank you so much. Thank you so much for having me. I’m the founder of Eqvista. I built multiple companies in Southeast Asia and the United States, currently in the United States for the past ten years. My time is devoted to Eqvista only.
Yeah. So thank you for sharing the screen. So, we do equity management, cap table stock issuance, and most importantly, formula and evaluation services. That’s our actual lead product. We currently have over 25000 companies on the platform. We are, I would say number two, solid number two on the market.
And yeah, thank you. Thank you so much for having me.
Dr. Jeremy Weisz 02:05
What type of companies do you work with?
Tomas Milar 02:11
So we usually work with VC backed companies or anybody who is interested in stock distribution. So it can be any privately owned company which practically hasn’t raised any money, but has employee stock option pool, and they need to get a distribution of equity or even those small companies with a C round, A round. And we obviously have multiple C, D, E round companies. So yeah, so we are practically. Industry agnostic. And even though agnostic towards the stage of the finance round.
Dr. Jeremy Weisz 03:02
How has the role of the cap table platform changed?
Tomas Milar 03:09
You know, what’s kind of interesting, Jeremy, the problem is that, you know, the commoditization, you know, the we have recently experienced a boom of our cap table compatible companies, right. It goes all the way back to 2007, 6, when a sodium Calgary, Canadian based company has started this space. They digitalized the ownership. And obviously we have a few more players coming in early 2010. We saw Equity management as an opportunity to actually expand our offerings.
So I was actually in an incorporation business. We would be doing a company formation, and we jumped in as a solution for our current clients back then in 2010, where, you know, we had a small software to manage our cap tables for the companies. I was back in Hong Kong, you know, we have one big leap from 2010 to 2026. We launched two, we launched company Eqvista in 2020, February. And in the past six years, we have seen a lot of movers.
But I would say that the cap table became practically commoditized. I don’t see any added value. It’s you know, stock stock distribution mechanism calculation. It’s actually complex. You know, it’s a big lift for somebody to start a company. There’s a lot of unknowns and you need to actually figure out a lot of moving parts. But yeah, the equity management has changed. So for compatible companies you need to actually look for a better angle, not just management or administration.
So for us, its valuations. So we excel in valuations of the pricing discovery. It’s something where I see the future for us. We value monthly billions of. Clients equities And most recently, we have launched a real time company evaluation where we have covered 95% of the market. That represents 65000 US relevant companies. Again, 95% 65000 companies. And that covers approximately 9 trillion in an asset in a private market.
Dr. Jeremy Weisz 06:16
You know, what’s interesting here is there’s a lot that goes into this. And by the way, I’ll just say you did a separate whole episode on 409A ratings. So people can check that, that one out and you really go deep into that. But, you know, for this purpose, if someone’s a founder out there and they’re choosing a cap table provider, what should they actually be looking for?
Tomas Milar 06:43
Jeremy first. It really depends on the stage of the company. But let’s say if you are a small company or startup, you should definitely have a freemium. So freemium is very important. So you don’t have to, you don’t have to pay any every dollar counts.
I’m actually a big believer in bootstrapping business. So bootstrapping is very important. That’s why we have a freemium for, for a, for a client, then definitely support. So if you issue any stocks out of that platform, that should definitely be someone who can answer within, you know, a few hours or even two minutes. That’s crucial.
And then obviously, as you grow, someone who can actually give you. Pretty much support on anything related to the future. Equity rounds or employee stock option pools. And the next thing is obviously evaluations because, you know, that’s the reason why we are building the company. And that’s the one of the most crucial parts in startups, not just how much you raised or what dilution you’ve been through in each round, but also how to motivate employees. So employees, they love to see that the value of the company is, is going, is going up. And your provider definitely has to understand how the market actually, you know, reflects the value of your company.
Dr. Jeremy Weisz 08:30
So as we’re here and we’re looking at, you know, the website here and pricing, I’m always curious when software companies and this is obviously a conscious decision because it still costs you and your team time and money and energy to offer a free product, right? And so talk about how you decided on, okay, what’s incorporated in the free version and then what’s incorporated in in the premium version.
Tomas Milar 08:58
Jeremy, so in the freemium, we offer a freemium part, the package for up to 20 stakeholders. Very basic functions, employee stock option, full vesting schedule. Each shareholder has access to the account. And that’s pretty much enough. That’s all you need, you know. So the idea is again, not to stress early founders with, you know, three, $4,000 bills. So that’s what, includes. And as you grow, you know there is not a catch to it. You know, like our second tier, it’s a 990. It covers 490a and a cap table. So we give a cap table for free. But again we feel the valuation is very strong. Because you know with AI age anybody anybody can practically get into any space. Right.
So our focus is the 409a valuations. So we have real real real people who will answer founders, CEO and CFO, CFOs. You actually ask how, what’s actually very important. And I think that the human behind evaluation is extremely important. There’s nothing more important than a bank account for a startup. You know how much money you have. And then the second thing is, you know, the value of the company.
Dr. Jeremy Weisz 10:34
Yeah, it’s like oxygen, right? I mean, you need the money to breathe.
Tomas Milar 10:43
Yes. Right. And exit, you know, like that’s that’s that’s the other thing, you know, like once you exit and getting the highest value that’s out of the company, that’s very important.
Dr. Jeremy Weisz 10:54
So I don’t know if there’s any other thoughts you have around, you know, the cap table becoming more of a baseline and the kind of the commoditization.
Tomas Milar 10:09
Jeremy. Yes. So, you know, what I have seen in the industry is that, again, you know, the SaaS boom in early 2010 was trying to get rid of spreadsheets. We had a lot of apps coming up, a lot of. Yeah.
SaaS business models. Right. Back then, it was really about scaling software development. But in the AI age now, you know, the software has become pretty much commoditized. So the market has shifted, right? And the same thing for us as an equity management provider.
So, you know, again, it’s a SaaS then a deep, deep tech. That’s how we explain to your shareholders what the company is worth. We feel as a deep tech because we have a lot of researchers analyzing what actually the private market is worth and what the private companies are worth. And then obviously from pricing discovery, the liquidity is the next is the next thing, next next thing.
So we will be launching a control tender offer. That’s our first semi secondary market Product. So as any business, you know, we, you have to evolve. And that’s what we see in the future.
Dr. Jeremy Weisz 12:46
So is it kind of thinking like, okay, the software is kind of table stakes, but the analysis, you know, really the differentiator is in the true expertise and analysis behind the scenes. Is that accurate?
Tomas Milar 12:59
Yes, that’s right. Because again, to build. Deep. I would say a team with deep knowledge in any industry. It’s very hard, right? You have to set a vision. You have to have, you know, different personalities on the team. And most importantly, you know, they shouldn’t quit the job, you know, so I’m quite happy with our research team. We have people, you know, working for us for five plus years, for five plus years, as long as the company is long old. So, you know, that’s something I’m very, very, very proud of.
So for us, again, is the valuation and how we can help tell the story, the value story of every single startup. Yeah. And then, you know, we have, we have the equity management and the stock distribution. But that’s quite simple. But for us, it’s again, the valuation, how we can help to defend the value in front of the investors or auditors, big four companies. Because let’s not forget you have multiple valuations and our job is to help founders actually to understand the value.
Dr. Jeremy Weisz 14:37
Yeah. So it’s really that connection between the software and then the four 409A valuations. And you, you know, went deep in we’ll have to link up. You know the other episode you did on four nine valuations because those things are really key when they’re working together.
Tomas Milar 14:58
Yes. Yes exactly. Yes. That’s the key. Because, you know, you need in any, in every segment in the app, you need to reflect the true value of the company, not just the value.
Dr. Jeremy Weisz 16:19
I want to talk about it.
Tomas Milar 15:16
The stock’s value.
Dr. Jeremy Weisz 15:19
Real time valuation, right? You know, traditionally private company valuations happen at specific points in time, like Eqvista has also been working on real time company valuation. Maybe talk a little bit about what that looks like and what does that mean?
Tomas Milar 15:36
Yes. You know what? I’ll keep it very, very simple. So it is actually a ticker for publicly traded companies. You know, so as you would be a publicly traded company. So what we are looking at is, is an app and, and our app and the graph actually shows you what’s the, what’s the value of your, of your company. And it’s in real time. So imagine you are even a small startup with $100,000. And we can actually help you to understand what’s the value in real time. So you can show your employees, investors, how you grow within the time, based on, based on our calculation and models.
Dr. Jeremy Weisz 16:25
That kind of relates to my next question is, once you have the ownership data, better visibility and evaluation. The next piece is liquidity, right? How does private market liquidity fit into all this?
Tomas Milar 16:39
We call it the secondary secondary market. Right. So for us, the public market is obviously multiple ways to buy stocks. But or how to liquidate the asset. Right. As an owner of Apple stocks or SpaceX recently. But for the private market, there is nothing there’s really nothing like that. We have a few, few players, most of them have been acquired. But if you don’t see much innovation in that space, and again, there’s, you know, we can discuss that. We can discuss it in different podcasts, but in private ownership.
There is a lot of noise and a mystery about who owns what and how to sell the stocks, who can help me, how and how and what’s the price. So we think that for us, liquidity is the future. Again, we want to start with the control and the control and offer. It’s obviously for us, the next step, because we have clients now looking for a liquidity solution for the employees and early investors. And then obviously the secondary market, the secondary market, that’s something we’re also looking into.
It’s an opportunity or it’s an option for us. But right now, the controls and the offer and the liquidity program. So for those, for those who don’t really know what it is. So let’s say you have a beer company, B, you raised, let’s say $50 million. And for early investors and employees, you want to help them with the liquidity so they can actually buy a house or at least have a deposit or buy a new car, or just have some reserves in the account.
So what do we do? We help them with, with a buyback program so that the companies actually can offer employees to get 25%, 30% of the, of the ownership in exchange for, for the, for the cash. So employees can get some cash and spend them or use them as, as, as they want. And that’s actually thank you for the company you are working for us and for owners or founders or CEOs, C as a thank you for, you know, helping to build a company. So that’s, that’s, that’s the liquidity for the private market.
Dr. Jeremy Weisz 19:30
So as I always like to know, when I’m talking to a company, kind of what their bigger vision is, and kind of when you put it all together, like, like Eqvista’s cap table management 409A valuations, real time valuation, private market liquidity. When you think about all that, what are you ultimately trying to build at Eqvista? What’s the bigger vision?
Tomas Milar 19:53
You know you know what step by step, you know, it’s you always have a you always have the vision. But I think, yeah, the vision would be the liquidity and that pricing discovery. You know, we had a, I wrote multiple articles on this topic, on this topic. One of them is the pricing discovery. I don’t think a lot of people understand what it means.
But again, if you go to the grocery shop and you want to buy something and you don’t understand what it costs, it’s a big problem, right? And it’s similar thing with anything. And for us, we were trying to prove that we can, we can deliver the pricing discovery to the market, which we have done. And now the liquidity would be the next thing.
Dr. Jeremy Weisz 20:53
You know, we talked before about the kind of changes that you’ve seen in the cap table market over the years. And we can use pulleys as an example. I’m sure there’s other examples out there. So it doesn’t have to be specifically making this conversation about one company. But why is that development significant for the broader market and what happened with pulley?
Tomas Milar 21:18
Yeah. You know, you know, I’ve written a quite nice LinkedIn post about it. It’s actually called Cap Table Companies Don’t Last! They get acquired. And it is actually true. You know, we had multiple companies cap share sodium share works, you know, global shares. Yeah. Global shares is actually a very good example. And recently, you know, the thing is that to pitch to investors, the trillion dollar market and how much equity you actually are going to build within the equity management space is very simple.
You know, if you get a few clients, you can quite easily explain that, hey, this is the asset we admit we administer, right? And from there you just extrapolate whatever you have on your deck to, you know, a few billions. So to actually get a seat or a round for your startup, it’s quite simple. And that actually leads to amazing, amazing rounds as poly has done, you know, they have done a tremendous job on fundraisers. I think they raised $50, $60 million.
And that’s really remarkable. So I don’t really know what happened with poly for us, it’s just another opportunity to get more clients. Obviously, we’d love to serve anybody who is actually moving away from poly. And for us, the future, it’s quite right. Obviously rhe price discovery is going to help us with the liquidity for the startups. So yeah.
Dr. Jeremy Weisz 23:26
I mean, Tomas, like when I think of this, and this happens periodically in the evolution of many industries, many companies, but I always think of how do you, how does a company then capitalize on the opportunity, right? You know, specifically something like that happening. So what are some of the things that your company do you think about when there’s an okay, this opportunity presents itself? How do you capture that opportunity in the market?
Tomas Milar 23:56
You know, you know, it’s, it’s also a little bit ethical. How do you want to, you know, how do you want to go after the clients, you know, do you want to go super hard or super heavy? You know, it’s so there’s a, there’s a balance, right? I think, you know, the founder, she did amazing. She did an amazing job. Right. And you don’t definitely post below LinkedIn, LinkedIn profile. You know, when she announced I’ve seen a few cable providers doing that, which is horrible. I wouldn’t. I would never do that. No.
You know what? I was always a believer in pool marketing. So what I mean is that we have a, we have, we have a program where we give. Three migrations and. Three all the time you are with Polly. So what that means is that let’s say if you have a subscription till July 1st, 2027, we can give you a free freemium on that period. So you don’t pay double double for the same platform and then 30% discount on whatever invoice you have agreement you have with Polly, obviously white glove. My easy migration and amazing support. Unlimited 409A valuation. So we have a lot of perks.
So that’s my job. My job is actually to build an appealing offer. Other than spamming people, obviously, you know, we have a program how to actually reach to clients, but it’s not really something I would be, you know, going heavily after. It’s an opportunity. Yes. But the opportunity in the product, not the one time marketing. And yeah,
Dr. Jeremy Weisz 26:07
I think of this because it’s like capturing opportunity is always happening. I mean, there’s specific time periods. Yes. But I am always interested in how people approach it. So it’s like I’m kind of like you where it’s like, okay, I’m not going to go too hard at people.
But you know, you in the same sense, you want them to go, hey, there’s, there’s a great option. Like we’re a great option. And then you think, I like the way you think of, okay, how do we make this as frictionless as possible for someone and eliminate any obstacles? Right? I mean, even if you look at I like to study Tomas, the cell phone companies are really good at this, right?
Oh, if you switch to AT&T, we’ll buy out your whatever. We’ll buy out your whole plan. We’ll give you three free whatever the. We’ll give you free phones. They basically try and eliminate any of the obstacles, any of the friction of switching over to them because it’s already, they’re already kind of entrenched with whatever cell phone company they’re using.
So I’d like to hear, you know, your thoughts on that. So, you know, okay, like we’re going to give you free up to the point when it’s here, we’re going to provide all these other services. And I’ll pull up an example of the dashboard in a second. But it’s an interesting conversation because this stuff’s always happening, but there’s moments in time when there’s kind of more of an influx.
Tomas Milar 27:35
But there’s an ethical way to do it, right? And then there is, you know, the other way. And again, it’s a noise. But if you have done a very good job over the years, the clients will find you right. Rather than being super aggressive.
I don’t think that’s, that’s the way you want to actually be seen as a company, the brand. It still has to be quite important. Desperate.
Dr. Jeremy Weisz 28:08
I mean, honestly, like sometimes these moments in time when something happens in the market helps people create offers that they wouldn’t have created otherwise. Like sometimes I look at some of these cell phone offers and I’m like, I’m not even thinking of switching. And that’s such a good offer. I’m like, maybe I should switch. So sometimes a company like yours is like, okay, like this maybe becomes a standard offer for anyone in another company, right?
And like, oh my, I might as well. This is such a good deal, right? But I do want to show the platform for a second. But if founders want to learn more about cap table management for 409A valuations, real time valuation, private market liquidity. Where should they go?
Tomas Milar 28:58
Eqvista.com. They should definitely reach out to me [email protected]. Yeah. Our, you know, our success team revenue team. It’s amazing. We have great support. You can get a free freemium. The dashboard is sleek and super, super easy.
Jeremy if you go to the dashboard. Yeah. So this is the dashboard. You can actually expand the window a little bit. And yeah, so we can issue stocks, track and invite shareholders. You can see how the future round impacts you. Cap table, how you get diluted. You can invite investors and obviously evaluations. You can see how much your company is worth and obviously we support any size of companies. We actually have a recently onboarded client with 10,000 stakeholders. So it is almost like a pre-IPO company. So yeah, that’s, that’s, that’s pretty much what we do.
Dr. Jeremy Weisz 30:25
I love it. So everyone could check out, I mean, you’ve been seeing it on the screen at eqvista.com and, you know, check out their products. They have a bunch of different things. And like Tomas said, there’s a freemium. So there’s, you know, they make it easy.
So Tomas, first of all, thanks for sharing. This is super interesting. And everyone can check out eqvista.com for more and we’ll see you next time. Tomas, thanks so much.
Tomas Milar: 30:52
Welcome, Jeremy. Thank you.
