In the early stages of a start-up, business angels and family and friends often invest alongside institutional investors. As a result, the shareholder base continues to grow with each funding round. This leads to fragmented cap tables, which can complicate communication and decision-making processes, particularly in the case of follow-on funding and exit transactions.
In such cases, pooling structures make it possible to consolidate shareholder rights and shareholdings and to safeguard start-ups’ ability to act in the long term. But which solution is appropriate, and what legal and regulatory requirements must be taken into account?
In their article for VentureCapital Magazine, Dr Bernt Paudtke, Partner, and Max Zeisler, Senior Associate at GÖRG, explain the various structuring options – from power-of-attorney arrangements to pooling vehicles – and highlight their advantages and disadvantages.
Read the full article in VentureCapital Magazine: Pooling-Strukturen bei Venture Capital.
