Cap Table & Dilution Modeller
A spreadsheet that shows you exactly how dilution stacks across five rounds, including option pool refreshes.
Founders get diluted not by one round but by the cumulative effect of pre-money assumptions, option-pool refreshes, and SAFE conversion math. This sheet makes that math legible.
Inputs
- Starting cap (you + co-founders).
- Per-round: amount raised, pre-money, option pool target.
- SAFE notes already issued (with caps).
Outputs
- Post-money cap table after each round.
- Founder ownership at each step.
- Effective dilution from option pool refreshes.
Two lessons every founder learns the hard way
Option pool shuffle
Investors usually require a post-investment option pool of N%. That pool comes out of the pre-money, not the post — meaning it dilutes founders, not new investors. A 10% pool refresh on a 20% round costs founders ~12.5% effective ownership.
SAFE stacking
Three uncapped SAFEs at $5M, $8M, and $12M look fine on a spreadsheet. They convert messy. Always model the conversion before signing the next one.
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