Dilution Calculator
Model up to three funding rounds and see exactly how much of your company you keep, including the hidden cost of the option pool shuffle.
Round 1
Round 2
After Pre-seed
Post-money: $4,000,000
| Holder | Ownership | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Founders | 77.5% | $3,100,000 |
| Investors (Pre-seed) | 12.5% | $500,000 |
| Option pool | 10.0% | $400,000 |
After Seed
Post-money: $10,000,000
| Holder | Ownership | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Founders | 60.3% | $6,027,778 |
| Investors (Pre-seed) | 9.7% | $972,222 |
| Investors (Seed) | 20.0% | $2,000,000 |
| Option pool | 10.0% | $1,000,000 |
The option pool shuffle costs you 1.4% of your company
With the same rounds but the pool created post-money, you would keep 61.6% instead of 60.3%. Investors ask for the pool before they invest, which quietly moves the cost from their side of the table to yours.
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Educational estimate only. Not legal, tax or investment advice.
How it works
Model your dilution in 3 steps
Enter your starting ownership, then add each round with the amount raised and the pre-money valuation.
Add the option pool investors are asking for, and tick whether it is created before the round.
Compare your ownership after each round, and see what the option pool shuffle costs you.
Worked example
Two rounds, from 100% to 56%
Inputs
- Round 1
- $500,000 at $2,000,000 pre, pool 0%
- Round 2
- $2,000,000 at $8,000,000 pre, pool 10% created before the round
Result
- After pre-seed
- 80%
- After seed
- 56%
- Pool shuffle cost
- 8 points
The pre-money option pool cost the founders 8 extra points of ownership.
How we got there
You raise a $500,000 pre-seed at a $2,000,000 pre-money valuation with no new option pool and sell 20%, keeping 80%. Then you raise a $2,000,000 seed at an $8,000,000 pre-money valuation, selling another 20%, so you keep 64%. If the seed investors also ask for a 10% option pool created before the round, your stake drops to 56%.
Reading your result
Is your dilution healthy?
Good sign
About 15% to 25% per round, and founders keep over half after seed.
Red flag
A large pre-money option pool on top of a low valuation.
Dilution is not bad in itself. Owning 60% of a company worth $10 million is better than owning 100% of one worth $1 million. What matters is that every round buys enough growth to make your smaller slice worth more.
Watch the option pool closely. When it is created inside the pre-money valuation, its whole cost falls on existing shareholders, not on the new investor. That single term often costs founders more than a lower valuation would.
FAQ
Startup dilution questions
Each round, your new ownership equals your old ownership multiplied by (1 minus the percentage sold in that round, including any new option pool).
No. You keep the same number of shares. The company issues new shares to investors, so your shares become a smaller percentage of the total.
Many early rounds sell 15% to 25% of the company, though it varies by market, stage and how much you raise.
It is when investors ask for the option pool to be created before their investment, so its cost comes out of the founders' share and the effective valuation is lower than the headline number.
There is no rule, but investors like founders to keep enough ownership to stay motivated through several more rounds. Many founding teams aim to keep well over half after seed.