Equity & Dilution
As you raise capital, your slice of the pie gets smaller, hopefully while the pie itself gets much larger. The Equity Simulator helps you track your personal stake through the lifecycle of your startup.
How to use the Cap Table Simulator
Step 1: Baseline (Founding Team)
Enter the current ownership split between co-founders.
- Example: Founder A (60%), Founder B (40%).
Step 2: Employee Option Pool (ESOP)
Use the slider to reserve equity for employees.
- Standard Seed: 10% pool.
- Standard Series A: 15-20% pool.
Notice that increasing the Option Pool dilutes only the existing shareholders (you), not the new investors.
Step 3: Add Funding Rounds
Click "+ Add Round" to simulate a Series Seed, Series A, or Series B.
- Investment: $2M
- Pre-Money Valuation: $8M
The "Post-Money" Output
The simulator generates a Pro-Forma Cap Table. This table answers the two most important questions for a founder:
- Ownership %: "Do I still own 51% of the company?"
- Paper Value: "What is my stake worth on paper today?"
💡 Pro Tip
Pro Rata Rights: Toggle the "Investors take Pro Rata" switch to see what happens if your early investors double down in future rounds to maintain their percentage.