Equity
Startup Dilution Calculator
See how your ownership changes with each funding round.
Funding Rounds
Founder Ownership Over Time
After all rounds
77.8%
Founder ownership remaining
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How to Use This Tool
Enter your funding rounds — pre-money valuation and investment amount for each stage. The calculator shows how your founder ownership percentage decreases with each round. Try adjusting valuations to see how raising at higher valuations preserves more equity.
Dilution Formula
Investor Ownership = Investment ÷ Post-Money Valuation
Post-money = pre-money + investment. Your ownership after each round = your shares ÷ total shares outstanding. Each new round creates new shares, diluting all existing holders proportionally.
Why This Matters
Dilution is the single most important financial concept for founders. A founder who raises $10,000,000 at a $40,000,000 pre-money keeps 80% ownership. The same amount at a $20,000,000 pre-money keeps only 66%. Over 3–4 rounds, these differences compound dramatically — the difference between owning 15% at exit versus 5%.
What experienced founders know
The goal isn't to minimize dilution at all costs — it's to take the right amount of dilution for the right amount of capital at the right time. A 25% dilution round that gives you 24 months of runway to hit a major milestone is far better than a 15% round that gives you only 9 months. Think about dilution in terms of what it buys you, not just what it costs.
Industry Benchmarks
Typical Seed Dilution
15–25%
Founders usually sell 15–25% at seed stage
Series A Dilution
20–30%
Series A rounds typically dilute 20–30%
Founder Ownership at Exit
10–20%
Successful founders often own 10–20% at IPO
What to Do With Your Results
- 1Compare scenarios — try different valuations to see the ownership impact.
- 2Plan your option pool — most rounds require a 10–15% option pool refresh that further dilutes founders.
- 3Model your exit — use the Liquidation Preference Simulator to see what you actually take home at different exit values.
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