“Have you raised money before?”

What they're really asking

What's already on the cap table? Investors rarely care about the question on its own. They're testing whether you know your numbers cold, whether your assumptions are honest, and whether you can explain them simply.

How to answer, step by step

1. List prior SAFEs and notes with amounts and caps.
2. Explain how they convert.
3. Show the fully diluted cap table.

An example answer

$500k in post- and pre-money SAFEs and a $100k note. They convert at the seed, and the cap table shows everyone's ownership afterwards.

Figures are from Loopdesk, the fictional SaaS company in our sample files. Swap in your own numbers and keep the structure.

The answer that loses trust

Where the proof lives

Before the meeting, find the number behind your answer. In our workbooks it lives in: Cap Table - SAFEs, Convertible Notes. If you can open that tab and point to it, the follow-up question is easy.