Preserving Equity: Key Decisions for Managing Your Cap Table Early On
We are delighted to invite you to this Draper House Americas and Techstars NYC event on how to Preserve Equity as an early stage software founder. The event will feature Dave Salvant, Co-Founder of Squire ($100M+ raised), Andres Barreto, NYC Managing Director of Techstars , Arpan Ajmera, investor at VU Venture Partners and Mariano Balcarce, Director of Draper House Americas. Join us to learn how founders and investors navigate critical decisions about equity preservation and cap table management at the earliest—and most crucial—stages of their startup journey.
Agenda:
• 4:45 PM - 6:00 PM – Panel Discussion + Q&A Session
• 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM – Drinks & Bites, Networking
Panel Discussion Topics:
• Smart Equity Distribution: Proven strategies to avoid over-dilution while driving growth
• Cap Table Management: Best practices for tracking ownership, options, and investment rounds
• Accelerator Programs & Equity: How to leverage accelerators without sacrificing too much equity
• Fundraising Tips: Balancing your funding needs with equity preservation
Featured Speakers:
Dave Salvant, is the Co-Founder and President of SQUIRE Technologies, the leading barber business management system. Since its inception in 2015, SQUIRE has reinvented the concept of barbershop community and turned daily operations on its head. In partnership with Co-Founder and CEO, Songe LaRon, he has led SQUIRE to remarkable growth: the company is now valued at $750m after completing a Series D fundraising round led by Tiger Global- tripling its valuation in just under two years.
Andres Barreto, is the Managing Director at Techstars NYC and Miami Powered by JP Morgan and helps founders accelerate reaching product-market-fit, fundraising, and recruiting. Previously, he founded Socialatom Group, Grooveshark, and Onswipe (Techstars 2011). With Socialatom Group, he invested in over 85 companies and founded Computer Science education non-profit coderise.org. Listed as BusinessWeek’s top 25 under 25, MIT Tech Review Top 10 Innovators under 35, Inc Magazine’s Top 30 under 30.
Arpan Ajmera, is an investor at VU Venture Partners, a sector-agnostic fund specialized in pre-seed to Series A investments. As the fund's second employee, Arpan has played a key role in building a portfolio of over 80 investments over the past five years. In addition to his work in investing, Arpan runs a community of more than 5,000 non-tech professionals interested in breaking into early-stage startups or launching their own ventures.
From Mariano Balcarce: What inspired this collaboration between Draper House and Techstars is the synergy between our programs. We share a work culture built on innovation, and many founders have thrived by participating in both of our ecosystems. Together, we’re empowering the next generation of entrepreneurs to navigate the complex landscape of equity and growth with confidence.
A special thanks to Justworks for sponsoring this event and sharing our mission of helping founders succeed.