Cap Table & Dilution Modeller

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.