Calculate dilution, valuations, equity splits, vesting schedules, and runway. Essential free tools for founders navigating fundraising and cap table management.
Fundraising and equity decisions have lasting implications for your startup. Understanding dilution, valuation math, and runway projections is critical for making informed decisions that protect founder ownership while securing the capital you need to grow.
These calculators help you model different funding scenarios, compare term sheets, and understand how each round affects your cap table. Whether you're raising your first angel round or preparing for Series A, these tools give you the clarity you need.
From equity splits with co-founders to vesting schedules for employees, these calculators cover the full spectrum of startup equity and fundraising decisions.
When you raise funding, you sell a percentage of your company to investors. If you raise $2M at a $8M pre-money valuation, investors get 20% of the company ($2M / $10M post-money). Your ownership is diluted from 100% to 80% of the new total. Each funding round further dilutes existing shareholders proportionally.
Pre-money valuation is your company's value before receiving investment. Post-money valuation is pre-money plus the investment amount. For example, a $10M pre-money + $2M investment = $12M post-money. Investor ownership is calculated as Investment / Post-money (not Pre-money).
Equal splits are common but not always fair. Consider each founder's contribution in terms of: initial idea (5-15%), domain expertise (5-15%), time commitment (10-20%), capital contribution (5-25%), and network/relationships (5-10%). Our Equity Split Calculator helps you weigh these factors objectively.
The industry standard is 4-year vesting with a 1-year cliff. This means no equity vests until the first anniversary (cliff), then 25% vests immediately, with the remaining 75% vesting monthly over the next 3 years. Some companies use 3-year or 5-year schedules, or monthly vesting from day one.
Most VCs recommend 18-24 months of runway after each fundraise. This gives you 12-18 months to hit milestones before you need to start fundraising again (which takes 3-6 months). Running below 6 months runway puts you in a weak negotiating position.
The Rule of 40 states that a SaaS company's growth rate plus profit margin should equal or exceed 40%. For example, 30% growth + 10% profit margin = 40%. High-growth companies can be unprofitable (50% growth + -10% margin = 40%), while mature companies need higher margins. It's a key metric for SaaS valuations.