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It's unclear what technical specifications exist for Open Cap Table but it looks to be a common file format? At a technical level, in addition to a common file

It's unclear what technical specifications exist for Open Cap Table but it looks to be a common file format? At a technical level, in addition to a common file format, I actually think that blockchain technology is a really good means of validating edits to the cap table data itself. The current mechanism for managing a cap table - particularly for pre-seed entrepreneurs - are probably something like Carta.com as a paid cloud managed offering or worse - some Word doc or Google Cloud doc which gets passed around by founders and legal. Think Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin and Dustin Moskovitz in a dorm stage type companies. What I think would be useful is something more akin to Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet maintained with a non-forkable git repo that's shared among partners and requires consensus on PRs before merge. For the record I'm skeptical of cryptocurrencies but bullish on blockchain technology (which I see as basically git with trust/consensus features built in). Particularly for maintaining consensus on documents among semi-trusted partners who need to track modifications to the document and who made them. Also for the record I just finished binge watching Git as Blockchain by Michael Perry. So now every nail needs the blockchain hammer :) . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7U-V4EwoP8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7U-V4EwoP8

pge 5y ago
The cap table is not an official record, merely a presentation of data. The stock certificates themselves and the purchase agreements (or notes/safes) are the official record. So, edits or errors in cap tables (which happen a lot) are not such a big issue as to merit the use of a complicated blockchain solution.
- somethoughts 5y ago
  Agreed - perhaps blockchain is too buzzwordy. I'm not thinking something super complicated. Basically envisioning a tool that is a fork of git itself with two features disabled/tweaked (i.e. disable forking, require consensus before PR merge to master). Probably the hardest part is creating a UX that lawyers can understand and trust.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
tihomirb 5y ago
I am one of the organizers of this Coalition. We expect to publish technical specification in Q1 2022. It will be a github repo and include the specs behind the common file format called OCF (Open Cap Table Format).
- somethoughts 5y ago
  That is great that the format itself will be open sourced. Long term I think there are some great opportunities for on boarding pre-seed technical founders onto the paid platforms which utilize Open CapTable Format files by providing some guidance on how to use open source tools (editors, git/ledger) to edit OCF files, store, distribute and ensure consensus among founders and early partners. The founders can then share the OCF files and distributed ledger entries when they eventually need to work with established entities who are using the paid SaaS OCF offerings (VCs, Legal, Compliance organizations). They also would likely graduate to paid SaaS offerings as well. Sort of the open source git versus GitHub/GitLabs model.
unabridged 5y ago
>bullish on blockchain technology (which I see as basically git with trust/consensus features built in) Blockchain and smart contracts are the perfect technology for managing a company's assets and voting rights, especially for startups. Imagine how much lower the risk for investors would be if the terms of share creation and dilution where completely spelled out in code. Option grants and lockup periods could be completely visible. Trading/hedging/derivatives could be available for even the smallest companies. Very tiny minimum investments could be taken with almost no overhead. ICOs have the right idea, but they are just 99% scam illegal security offerings. An SEC sanctioned version of an ICO that is tied to real shares in a company would be a game changer.
- AlexandrB 5y ago
  I don't understand why a distributed solution is necessary here. Couldn't you just use a database and a git repo of stored procedures for share creation/dilution?
  - somethoughts 5y ago
    A database might be susceptible to tampering, etc. It might be simpler to just use the OCF file itself and put it under source control/ledger tracking via git. I think the base level solution could just be an OCF file and git with some sort of consensus requirement among all partners before a merge to master is allowed. The key thought is that the OCF file format standard is a great start but for sure other features/tooling around the format could be interesting to drive adoption.
    - vlovich123 5y ago
      Git is not sensitive to tampering

pge 5y ago

The cap table is not an official record, merely a presentation of data. The stock certificates themselves and the purchase agreements (or notes/safes) are the official record. So, edits or errors in cap tables (which happen a lot) are not such a big issue as to merit the use of a complicated blockchain solution.

somethoughts 5y ago
Agreed - perhaps blockchain is too buzzwordy. I'm not thinking something super complicated. Basically envisioning a tool that is a fork of git itself with two features disabled/tweaked (i.e. disable forking, require consensus before PR merge to master). Probably the hardest part is creating a UX that lawyers can understand and trust.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]

tihomirb 5y ago

I am one of the organizers of this Coalition. We expect to publish technical specification in Q1 2022. It will be a github repo and include the specs behind the common file format called OCF (Open Cap Table Format).

somethoughts 5y ago
That is great that the format itself will be open sourced. Long term I think there are some great opportunities for on boarding pre-seed technical founders onto the paid platforms which utilize Open CapTable Format files by providing some guidance on how to use open source tools (editors, git/ledger) to edit OCF files, store, distribute and ensure consensus among founders and early partners. The founders can then share the OCF files and distributed ledger entries when they eventually need to work with established entities who are using the paid SaaS OCF offerings (VCs, Legal, Compliance organizations). They also would likely graduate to paid SaaS offerings as well. Sort of the open source git versus GitHub/GitLabs model.

unabridged 5y ago

>bullish on blockchain technology (which I see as basically git with trust/consensus features built in) Blockchain and smart contracts are the perfect technology for managing a company's assets and voting rights, especially for startups. Imagine how much lower the risk for investors would be if the terms of share creation and dilution where completely spelled out in code. Option grants and lockup periods could be completely visible. Trading/hedging/derivatives could be available for even the smallest companies. Very tiny minimum investments could be taken with almost no overhead. ICOs have the right idea, but they are just 99% scam illegal security offerings. An SEC sanctioned version of an ICO that is tied to real shares in a company would be a game changer.

AlexandrB 5y ago
I don't understand why a distributed solution is necessary here. Couldn't you just use a database and a git repo of stored procedures for share creation/dilution?
- somethoughts 5y ago
  A database might be susceptible to tampering, etc. It might be simpler to just use the OCF file itself and put it under source control/ledger tracking via git. I think the base level solution could just be an OCF file and git with some sort of consensus requirement among all partners before a merge to master is allowed. The key thought is that the OCF file format standard is a great start but for sure other features/tooling around the format could be interesting to drive adoption.
  - vlovich123 5y ago
    Git is not sensitive to tampering