Build a Simple Cap Table Tool for Pre-Seed Founders
11/15The Opportunity
Spotted on Hacker News · March 19, 2026
Early founders use spreadsheets to model equity splits and dilution. Carta and Pulley are built for funded companies, not founders modeling their first round.
Why these scores?
Demand (pain) scored 3/5 (strong) — how urgently people need a solution.
Willingness to pay scored 3/5 (strong) — evidence people would pay for this.
Market gap scored 3/5 (strong) — how underserved this space is.
Build effort scored 5/5 (very high) — feasibility for a solo builder or small team.
Who's Complaining About This?
Willingness to Pay
simplecap.info launched on HN with founder scratching their own itch — validated demand. Carta charges $2800+/yr. Founders would pay $15-29/mo for a simple version before they need Carta.
Score Breakdown
11/15How urgently people need this solved and how willing they are to pay for it. Based on complaint frequency and spending signals across platforms.
How open the market is. A high score means few or no direct competitors, or existing solutions are overpriced and underdeliver.
How quickly a solo developer can ship an MVP. 5 = weekend project with standard tools. 1 = months of infrastructure work.
Existing Solutions
Carta ($2800+/yr), Pulley ($200/mo), Capboard ($49/mo). No truly simple tool under $20/mo for pre-seed modeling.