Model how your ownership changes across pre-seed, seed, Series A, and beyond. Includes ESOP refresh, pre-money math, and a per-round chart. Free, no signup, runs in your browser.
Initial percentages should sum to 100%.
Optional. Most companies start with 0% and add an option pool at seed.
ESOP target is the desired option pool size after the round (post-money %). Leave blank for no refresh.
Typical dilution per round
Pre-seed: 10–15%. Seed: 15–25%. Series A: 20–25%. Series B+: 15–20%. Add 5–15% ESOP refresh on top, usually at seed or Series A.
ESOP refresh
New option pool comes out of pre-money — existing shareholders dilute before the new investor. Often the hidden 5–10% extra dilution founders don't model. This calculator handles it correctly.
Typical end state
After 3–4 rounds, founders combined usually retain 20–40%. ESOP sits at 10–15%. The rest is investors. If founders drop below 20% before Series B, future rounds will be hard.
A cap table (capitalization table) is a record of who owns what percentage of a company. It lists founders, employees with options (ESOP), and investors, with their respective ownership stakes. Every time the company issues new equity — a funding round, ESOP refresh, or employee grant — the cap table changes.
Dilution is the reduction in existing shareholders' ownership percentage when new shares are issued. If you owned 50% of a company and the company issues new shares to a Series A investor for 20% of post-money, your new ownership is 50% × (1 - 20%) = 40%. Founders typically end up with 20–40% combined after 3–4 funding rounds.
ESOP refresh (also called option pool shuffle) is when a new option pool is created or topped up as part of a funding round. Typically the new pool comes out of the pre-money valuation, meaning existing shareholders are diluted before the new investor comes in. This is one of the most under-appreciated sources of founder dilution.
Pre-money valuation is the company's value before the new investment lands. Post-money = pre-money + investment. The new investor's ownership percentage = investment ÷ post-money. So a $2M investment at $10M pre-money gives the investor $2M / $12M = 16.7% of the post-round company.
Typical dilution per round: pre-seed 10–15%, seed 15–25%, Series A 20–25%, Series B+ 15–20%. Add 5–15% ESOP refresh on top, usually at the seed or Series A round. After three rounds, founders combined typically retain 30–50% of the company.
No. This calculator runs entirely in your browser. None of your cap table data is sent to any server. You can use it for sensitive scenario planning with confidence.
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