Part of the problem is that the instincts of treating employees poorly is so deeply ingrained that companies who think they are being transparent often aren't. EG: You ask them about the cap table and they give you a verbal, off the head, assertion about who is on it. They don't let you actually see it.
Ironically this is the case often when they are making an offer, too. They won't tell you the number of shares outstanding, but they offer you 100k shares, as if that's a lot. Is it a lot? Or is it a trivial amount? Are they so stupid they don't realize that without knowing the total number authorized or outstanding that we can't evaluate the offer? Or do they think we are that stupid?
And when you do ask the total outstanding, you often get, again, off the head, old or inaccurate information delivered in a way that implies you're being nosy.
Ironically this is the case often when they are making an offer, too. They won't tell you the number of shares outstanding, but they offer you 100k shares, as if that's a lot. Is it a lot? Or is it a trivial amount? Are they so stupid they don't realize that without knowing the total number authorized or outstanding that we can't evaluate the offer? Or do they think we are that stupid?
And when you do ask the total outstanding, you often get, again, off the head, old or inaccurate information delivered in a way that implies you're being nosy.