The CEO of a Norwegian hardware startup shared a pitch deck with me that had an unusual slide: It included the company’s capitalization table — the breakdown of who owns what part of the company.

Cake Equity reports that scaling startups are rightsizing their cap tables, favoring clarity and fit over complex systems as they grow.

In startup fundraising, ownership structure can be as decisive as revenue growth or market size. Investors often review a company’s capitalization table, a record of who owns what, before committing ...