How do we run our fundraise instead of letting investors run it?

You are about to let strangers put a price on what you built. That price is not the truth of its worth — it is a negotiation, and negotiations reward the prepared. If you do not understand the cap table before you enter the room, you will leave the room owning less than you think, for reasons you did not see. Most founders fail here not from bad character but from bad arithmetic. They confuse enthusiasm for terms. They sign a board seat away because a check felt like validation. They do not model what round three looks like when they agreed to round one's preferences. This is not cynicism — it is diligence, the same diligence you'd want from anyone building something that must survive contact with reality. You are not raising alone. Your team will live inside whatever structure you agree to — the option pool, the vesting, the control provisions. Decide together, with the same numbers in front of everyone, before any term sheet arrives. Understanding is not optional here. It is the whole job.