Ep#72: Your Cap Table Is the Story of Your Company — Joris Delanoue, Fairmint

**Every line on your cap table is a promise. Most founders don’t know what they’ve signed.** Andy Walsh sat down with Joris Delanoue, founder of Fairmint, to unpack why equity, the core of startup ownership, is still managed through systems built for a different era, and why that matters more now than ever. The central tension: companies are staying private longer, secondary markets are growing fast, and the infrastructure holding it all together is, in many cases, still a spreadsheet. Joris has spent two decades on both sides of this, as a founder frustrated by the cost and complexity of bringing people onto his cap table, and as an angel investor watching his capital sit trapped in paper with no clear path to liquidity. That frustration became Fairmint. This episode goes deep on what a cap table actually is, what it costs when it’s mismanaged, and what programmable equity infrastructure looks like when it’s built correctly from day one. **Topics covered:** - Why cap tables are still broken - The standardization movement that changed early fundraising - How blockchain turns equity into a programmable asset - Why liquidity is infrastructure, not an exit event **Listen:** Apple **||** Spotify **||** YouTube **Presented by Deel: If you’re at the stage of making your first or fiftieth hire, and doing it across borders, Deel is worth knowing about. They’re supporting Startups Decoded for good reason.** *LEARN MORE.* [Subscribe now](%%checkout_url%%) Joris Delanoue Founder and operator with over two decades of experience building and scaling companies across tech and finance. Co-founder and CEO of Fairmint, a platform rethinking how companies raise capital and manage equity, using software and blockchain to modernize the cap table from incorporation to IPO.  Andy Walsh 2× exited founder, advisor, board member, and host of Startups Decoded (500,000 downloads + Top 2% globally). **Access All Areas.** - Listen: Apple || Spotify || YouTube - Subscribe: Substack - Connect: LinkedIn - Web: startupsdecoded.com - Socials: TikTok || Instagram || X **Music Credit** “Neptuno” – Phondupe (Album: *Onykia*)  The Studio  ​Filmed on location at 28th&Park. A content & production studio for New York’s visionary Builders, Investors, Artists, Musicians, & Creators to amplify their voice & share bold stories. Use the code “Decoded” for 25% off your first booking.