Two halves of the same bet — switch view ↓

The Stack · Capital

The operating system
for your raise.

Name: The Founders' Stack
Price: 39 USD
Author: Ashish Kulkarni

Cap table, valuation, VC matching, term sheets, investor updates — nine tools across the full raise.

Explore the tools →

30 days free · Half the Pro credits, rounded down · No card required

ValuLabCapLabVCLabTermLab+5 more

Built by Ashish Kulkarni · 100+ VC interviews

Cap Table · Series A

Founders

68%

Seed Investors

18.5%

ESOP

10%

Angels

3.5%

VC Matcher

92%

Meridian Ventures

B2B SaaS · Series A–C

Stage fit

Sector fit

Geo fit

SAFE Calculator

Model cap, discount & stacking

The problem

Fundraising is the one thing every founder has to figure out — usually alone, usually under pressure. And underneath the raise sits a second question nobody prepares you for: the founder VCs say they're really betting on.

Neither is a founder problem.
Both are information problems.

01 Planning range · fictional example

$300K–700K

$300K low$700K high

ValuLabFree

Explore business-model ranges across 18 sectors, combine two revenue streams, and save or export your assumptions.

See how it works →

02 Cap table · Series A

Founders 68% Seed 18% ESOP 10% Angels 4%

CapLabFree

Model dilution round by round, with ESOP pools and the Option Pool Shuffle built in.

A curated shortlist matched to your sector, stage and geography, drawn from 27,000+ VCs.

See how it works →

04 Term sheet clauses

Liquidation pref1x non-part

Anti-dilutionBroad-based

Board seatsInvestor 3/5

TermLabFree

Understand every clause before you sign: waterfalls, anti-dilution, vesting, and a full SAFE simulator.

See how it works →

05 Time on each slide

CoverProblemMarketAsk

PitchLabFounder Pro

Send each VC a tracked link and see who opened your deck, and which slides actually held them.

See how it works →

06 Fundraise pipeline

Track every investor and interaction so a warm lead never goes cold. A CRM built for founders, not salespeople.

See how it works →

07 Investor update · June

Turn any update into a visual dashboard you can share with investors in a single link.

See how it works →

08 Vesting · 4-year schedule

CliffYr 242% vestedYr 4

ESOPLabFree

Learn and manage option pools, vesting schedules, leaver clauses and exit payouts.

See how it works →

09 Data room · 7 folders

Track data-room readiness across 7 folders and know what investors will ask before they ask.

See how it works →

01 Self · Big Five (OCEAN)

Your Big Five profile across all five traits and their facets — the backbone of how you show up in the founder seat.

Take the assessment →

02 Self · Self-efficacy

7.9/10

Resilience

EfficacyIndexLive

How strongly do you believe you can execute under pressure — the trait most tied to tracked growth. Track it as you scale.

Take the assessment →

03 Drive · Initiative

How much you act before you're forced to — the one trait research shows can actually be trained. A self-starting read.

Take the assessment →

04 Drive · Locus of control

How much do you believe you steer your own outcomes, versus luck or circumstance? A read on your sense of agency.

Take the assessment →

05 Cognition · Self-awareness

How clearly you see your own thinking — and adjust it. The metacognition that separates founders who learn fast.

Take the assessment →

06 Shadow · Dark Triad

The traits that make founders formidable — framed as an edge to understand and manage, never a diagnosis.

Take the assessment →

✦ Composite · all six tests

Your Founder Profile

SelfDriveCognitionShadow

FounderMindFounder Pro

All six assessments synthesised into one shareable founder profile — your Self, Drive, Cognition and Shadow in a single read.

See a sample →

Why measure the founder?

The thesis behind The Psyche — and the long-term study you join by taking these.

Read the argument →

Built on validated psychological constructs. A mirror and a coach — never a diagnosis, never a prediction. Take the battery and you help build the first dataset linking founder psychology to real outcomes.

Create your account

Explore the tools

Your 30-day trial starts at signup, with half the Founder Pro credits, rounded down, for the whole trial.

Upgrade when you’re ready

After your trial, choose Founder Pro for $39/month to keep your tools and get the full credit allowance. No automatic charge.

New individual accounts get one free 30-day trial. Trial credits do not reset or roll over. Financial models and pitch deck creation are not included. Paid Founder Pro is $39/month; cancel anytime.

Who built this

Ashish Kulkarni

Ashish Kulkarni is a startup educator, investor researcher, and host of The Founders' Stack podcast. He runs two newsletters with 18,000+ subscribers: Founders' Psyche (founder psychology) and Founders' Capital (venture finance). Over the past several years, he has conducted primary research across two major studies: interviewing 100+ C-stage VCs on what they actually look for in founders, and a research collaboration with Plug and Play Tech Center spanning five international startup hubs. The Founders' Stack is built on that research, not guesswork.

🔬 Read the research: two global studies from 100+ VC interviews across 33 countries →

Which tools are live right now?

Founder Pro includes FundLab, VCLab, RadarLab, PitchLab tracking, CapLab, TermLab, ValuLab, DDLab, ESOPLab and the Founders' Psyche assessments. See the pricing page for the exact monthly credit allowances. Financial model building and pitch deck creation are not included.

How does the free trial work?

New individual accounts get one 30-day trial from signup, with half the Founder Pro credits, rounded down, for the entire trial. Trial credits do not reset or roll over. After the trial, choose the optional $39/month pilot subscription. No automatic charge.

Can I cancel anytime?

You can stop renewal from your dashboard. Your paid access and remaining credits continue until the end of the confirmed paid period.

What do you do with my data?

Your data is used only to improve the platform. It is never sold or shared. You can delete your account at any time.

Get Started

Founder Pro: $39/month

Start with a free 30-day trial for new individual accounts. Upgrade to the monthly Founder Pro subscription for the full credit allowance. No automatic charge at trial expiry.

✓ 50 Email Finds, 30 Team Lookups and 50 Portfolio Lookups per billing month
✓ 10 Email Drafts, 5 Investor Updates and 5 Deck Evaluations per paid billing month
✓ FundLab, VCLab, RadarLab, PitchLab tracking, CapLab, TermLab, ValuLab, DDLab and ESOPLab

See trial and monthly plan →

No card required for the trial. Paid credits renew after payment confirmation.

The operating system
for your raise.

Two minutes. Nine tools. One raise.

From valuation to wire transfer. One complete fundraising OS.

The operating system for the founder behind it.

How it works

Ashish Kulkarni

Everything you need
to fundraise with confidence.

A few things you're probably wondering

Founder Pro: $39/month

Stop spraying.
Start raising.

Two newsletters. One founder education.

The operating systemfor your raise.

Two minutes. Nine tools. One raise.

From valuation to wire transfer. One complete fundraising OS.

The operating system for the founder behind it.

How it works

Ashish Kulkarni

Everything you needto fundraise with confidence.

A few things you're probably wondering

Founder Pro: $39/month

Stop spraying.Start raising.

Two newsletters. One founder education.

The operating system
for your raise.

Everything you need
to fundraise with confidence.

Stop spraying.
Start raising.