Fundraising Dilution

The fundraising dilution calculator helps startup founders, venture capital investors, and angel investors understand how equity ownership changes after a priced fundraising round. Enter your pre-money valuation, round size, and current ownership split to instantly see founder dilution, new investor ownership, and your full post-round cap table.

How post-money valuation works

The calculator uses the standard venture capital formula: post-money valuation equals pre-money valuation plus investment amount. If a startup raises $2M at an $8M pre-money valuation, the post-money valuation is $10M and the new investor receives 20% ownership, because the investment represents 20% of the post-money valuation. Existing shareholders are then diluted proportionally.

ESOP pool expansion

Founders often increase the employee stock option pool before or during a round to reserve equity for future hires. Because the top-up is typically created pre-money, the additional dilution is absorbed by founders and existing investors rather than the incoming investor. This calculator models a target fully diluted ESOP pool after the round so you can see the true cost of the expansion before you negotiate.

Who this calculator is for

• -Startup founders preparing for pre-seed, seed, or Series A fundraising
• -Cap table modeling and startup equity planning
• -ESOP planning and employee stock option allocation
• -Understanding investor ownership after fundraising
• -SAFE and convertible note preparation before a priced round
• -Venture capital negotiation preparation