Operations
Part of Startup funding operations in controlled stages, from evidence room to completion
Who owns cash, evidence and the cap table when a startup raises funding
Define 12 startup funding team roles in England with clear authority for cash, evidence, outreach, compliance, data, contracts and delivery.
One person may hold several of the 12 roles in a small startup, but each responsibility still needs an owner. Record decision authority, required review and backup. Job titles alone do not show who can approve a forecast, send a promotion or sign an agreement.
What to take away
- Each funding role needs a named owner, not just a job title, to show who approves decisions.
- Separate internal coordination from professional advice so coordinators do not answer beyond their competence.
- Test the role map with a changed forecast, urgent diligence request and a deck correction before outreach.
- Review and simplify the role map after funding completion as duties move into ordinary operations.
1. Board decision owner
Owns the milestone, funding route, limits and fallback. Keeps formal approvals and conflicts with the board record.
2. Cash and model owner
Reconciles current cash, maintains scenarios and checks net proceeds. Separates contracted, probable and forecast receipts.
3. Cap-table owner
Maintains ownership, options and convertibles against statutory and transaction documents. Coordinates changes with legal advisers and filings.
4. Evidence coordinator
Keeps the source register, data-room index and version trail. Routes requests to the correct subject owner rather than answering from memory.
5. Commercial evidence owner
Verifies customer contracts, pipeline labels, pricing and market statements. Obtains permission before using names, logos or quotations.
6. Technical or product owner
Explains product status, intellectual property, dependencies, security and the funded milestone. Distinguishes completed work from the roadmap.
7. Funding-route researcher
Checks scheme, lender or investor fit and source dates. Uses services such as Find a Grant for discovery, then opens the controlling opportunity. Growth Hubs in England and mayoral combined authorities in England can point to local grant and loan programmes.
8. Communications owner
Maintains approved decks, applications, emails and public material. Records audience and channel, prevents unauthorised variants and withdraws stale claims.
9. Regulatory and legal coordinator
Collects questions for qualified advisers and preserves advice against the final version. Uses current official references such as FCA PERG 8 without turning guidance into an in-house legal opinion.
10. Data-room administrator
Creates named access, applies expiry, logs sharing and removes former recipients. The administrator follows the data-purpose and retention record rather than deciding it alone.
The ICO's UK GDPR guidance supports the organisation's assessment of lawful processing, rights, security and accountability.
11. Transaction coordinator
Tracks diligence, documents, conditions, signatures, approvals, filings and cleared funds. Reconciles the completion pack rather than assuming each adviser holds the same version.
12. Post-funding delivery owner
Moves the approved budget into operations. Assigns grant evidence, investor reports, debt payments, covenants and later reviews.
Make the roles operational
Create a RACI-style table for each funding stage, but allow only one accountable owner for a decision. Add absence cover and escalation deadlines. A founder can be accountable for several areas while a specialist remains responsible for technical review.
Make the roles operational
- Create RACI-style table for each funding stage
- Allow only one accountable owner per decision
- Add absence cover and escalation deadlines
- Test with changed forecast and urgent diligence
- Revise roles before outreach if unclear
Test the arrangement with a changed forecast, urgent diligence request and correction to an investor deck. If staff cannot identify who decides and who checks, revise the roles before outreach.
Suggested minimum split for a 3 to 5 person team:
- Person 1board decision, cash and model, cap table.
- Person 2evidence coordinator, commercial evidence, technical or product.
- Person 3communications, regulatory and legal coordinator, data-room administrator.
- Sharedfunding-route researcher, transaction coordinator, post-funding delivery owner, assigned to the founder closest to the work.
With five people, separate cash and model, technical or product, and transaction coordination.
Worked example: seed round, approving the 12-month cash forecast.
| Role | RACI |
|---|---|
| Board decision owner | A |
| Cash and model owner | R |
| Cap-table owner | C |
| Evidence coordinator | C |
| Commercial evidence owner | C |
| Technical or product owner | C |
| Funding-route researcher | I |
| Communications owner | I |
| Regulatory and legal coordinator | C |
| Data-room administrator | I |
| Transaction coordinator | C |
| Post-funding delivery owner | I |
Legend: A means accountable, R responsible, C consulted and I informed. The board decision owner approves the forecast. The cash and model owner prepares it. Other roles supply evidence, check constraints or receive the decision.
Separate ownership from professional advice
An internal coordinator can gather legal, tax, finance or regulatory questions but should not answer beyond competence. Record the adviser, scope, date, facts reviewed and document version. Keep the company decision owner accountable for acting on the advice.
External advisers need internal contacts who can supply evidence and challenge assumptions. A solicitor cannot reconcile a cap table without complete grants and transfers, and an accountant cannot validate a forecast without the commercial inputs.
Set cover and escalation
Name a deputy for every deadline-sensitive role. Store work in controlled company systems rather than a founder's private inbox. Example trigger: a live diligence request unanswered after 24 hours. Cash variance above 5% of the approved monthly budget, an access incident, or a document conflict goes to the board by the next working day.
Review the role map after staff changes and at each funding stage. Remove former users, transfer unfinished items and confirm signing authority again. The map should become simpler after completion as duties move into ordinary company operations.
Before you act
- Create a RACI-style table for each funding stage.
- Allow only one accountable owner per decision.
- Name a deputy for every deadline-sensitive role.
- Store work in controlled company systems, not private inboxes.
- Set a 24-hour missed-response trigger and a 5% cash variance trigger for board escalation.
- Record adviser scope, date and document version.
Common questions
How can a startup test whether its funding role map works?
Use the tests under Make the roles operational. The test passes when staff can name the accountable owner and the checker without prompting.
What should an internal coordinator do when legal or tax questions arise?
The coordinator gathers the question and records the advice. The company decision owner remains accountable for acting on it. See Separate ownership from professional advice.
Why is a deputy needed for deadline-sensitive funding roles?
Cover keeps a deadline from depending on one person. The escalation triggers in Set cover and escalation apply when the deputy cannot resolve the issue.
