Startup Cap Table Calculator
Track startup ownership and dilution across Seed and Series A funding rounds
Calculate founder equity, investor stakes, option pool impact, and price per share
Ownership Summary
Founder Combined Ownership
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Total Dilution
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Seed Pre-Money
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Series A Pre-Money
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Final Total Shares
Cap Table by Stage
| Stakeholder | Founding | Post-Seed | Pool Shuffle | Post-Series A |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Founder 1 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Founder 2 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Option Pool | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Seed Investor | - | -- | -- | -- |
| Series A Investor | - | - | - | -- |
| Total | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
Share Counts & Pricing
Founding
Total Shares:
Post-Seed
Shares Issued:
Price/Share:
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Total Shares:
Pool Shuffle (Pre-A)
New Pool Shares:
Total Shares:
Post-Series A
Shares Issued:
Price/Share:
--
Total Shares:
Dilution Breakdown
From Seed Round
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From Pool Shuffle
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From Series A
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Model Assumptions
- All calculations use fully diluted share counts (including option pool)
- Option pool increase at Series A is an incremental addition, not a target pool size
- Pool shuffle occurs pre-money, diluting existing shareholders before A investment
- Single share class assumed (common stock mechanics)
- No anti-dilution provisions or liquidation preferences modeled
For educational purposes. Not financial advice. Real cap tables involve additional complexity.
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Frequently Asked Questions
A capitalization table (cap table) is a spreadsheet that shows the equity ownership of a company, including shares owned by founders, investors, and reserved in an option pool. It tracks how ownership changes across funding rounds, showing both the number of shares each stakeholder holds and their percentage ownership of the company.
When a company raises money, it issues new shares to investors. Since the total share count increases but existing shareholders' shares stay the same, their percentage ownership decreases. This reduction is called dilution. For example, if you own 1 million shares out of 10 million (10%), and the company issues 2.5 million new shares to investors, you still own 1 million shares but now out of 12.5 million total (8%).
Pre-money valuation is the company's value before new investment. Post-money valuation equals pre-money plus the investment amount. For example, if a company has a $4M pre-money valuation and raises $1M, the post-money valuation is $5M. The investor's ownership percentage is calculated as Investment / Post-Money, so in this case: $1M / $5M = 20%.
When investors require the company to increase its option pool before (not after) their investment, existing shareholders bear the dilution from the new pool shares. This is called an "option pool shuffle." For example, if investors want a 15% option pool but only 10% exists, the additional 5% is created pre-money, diluting founders and existing investors. This effectively reduces the pre-money value to existing holders while the investor's ownership is based on the post-shuffle share count.
These are typical ranges, though they vary significantly by company and market conditions: Seed rounds typically result in 10-25% dilution (investors receive 10-25% ownership). Series A rounds typically result in 15-30% dilution. By Series B, founders often own 20-40% combined. The key is that each round's dilution compounds, so founders who start with 90% at founding might end up with 25-35% after Series B.
The percentage is determined by: Investment Amount / Post-Money Valuation. If you invest $5M at a $25M post-money valuation, you get 20% ownership. The post-money valuation is negotiated between founders and investors based on the company's traction, market size, team, and competitive dynamics. A higher valuation means less dilution for founders but also higher expectations from investors.
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