# Equity

Concept · [Fundraising and equity](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/fundraising)

Also called: shares, stock, ownership, ownership stake, stake

Ownership in a company. It is divided into shares, and whoever holds shares owns that portion of the company.

**For example:** A company has 1,000 shares. You hold 600 and your [co-founder](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/technical-co-founder) holds 400. You own 60 percent of the equity.

## Connects to (23)

- [Cap table](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/cap-table): Short for capitalization table.
- [Vesting](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/vesting): Earning your shares bit by bit over time instead of all at once.
- [Dilution](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/dilution): When the company creates new shares, each existing owner's percentage gets smaller, even though the number of shares they hold stays the…
- [Equity vs cash compensation](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/equity-vs-cash): The two main ways a startup pays people.
- [Venture capital](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/venture-capital): Money that professional investment firms put into young companies in exchange for equity.
- [SAFE](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/safe): Simple agreement for future equity.
- [Convertible note](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/convertible-note): A loan from an investor that is meant to turn into shares later instead of being paid back in cash.
- [Valuation](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/valuation): What the company is agreed to be worth for the purpose of an investment.
- [Stock options](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/stock-options): The right to buy shares in the company later at a price that is set today.
- [LLC](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/llc): Limited liability company.
- [C-corp](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/c-corp): C corporation.
- [Exit](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/exit): The moment when founders and investors can turn their shares into cash.
- [Preferred stock vs common stock](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/preferred-stock): The two main kinds of shares in a startup.
- [83(b) election](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/83b-election): A notice sent to the US tax agency, the IRS, by a person who receives stock that vests over time.
- [Cliff](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/cliff): The first stretch of a vesting schedule, during which nothing vests.
- [Small business loan](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/small-business-loan): Money a business borrows and must repay with interest.
- [Fiduciary duty](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/fiduciary-duty): A legal duty to act in someone else's best interest and not your own.
- [Technical co-founder](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/technical-co-founder): A founding partner who can build the product themselves and who makes the technology decisions.
- [Venture studio](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/venture-studio): An organization that comes up with business ideas itself and builds companies around them, often bringing in founders to run them.
- [Founder](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/founder): A person who starts a company and owns part of it from the beginning.
- [ACT House](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/act-house): A Tulsa accelerator with an investing arm.
- [Capital gains](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/capital-gains): The profit from selling an asset, such as stock or property, for more than it cost.
- [Endeavor Orthopaedics](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/endeavor-orthopaedics): A medical device company based in Tulsa.

> This glossary is plain-language orientation, not legal or financial advice. Before you decide on a company structure, a contract, taxes or a fundraising deal, talk with a lawyer or an accountant.

Map view: https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/equity