5 Founder Equity Scenarios

Real-world equity scenarios from startup funding rounds, cofounder splits, and exits. Copy these for social media or calculate your own.

Shareable visualizations for Twitter/X, LinkedIn, and Reddit.

1
The Classic Dilution
Solo founder raising through Series A

You start with 100% ownership. By the time you reach Series A, you've sold equity in 4 rounds. Here's what happens to your ownership percentage.

Start
100%
Your equity
After Seed
75%
-25% sold
After Series A
51%
-24% sold
After Series B
34%
-17% sold
After Series C
23%
-11% sold
Starting a startup? Here's what happens to your equity through Series A: 100% → 75% (Seed) 75% → 51% (Series A) 51% → 34% (Series B) 34% → 23% (Series C) You sell ~77% of your company by Series C. The tradeoff: you own less, but the company is worth $100M+. Calculate your dilution: founder-math.com/dilution #startup #founders #equity #fundraising

Calculate Your Dilution

Model your ownership across funding rounds with the Dilution Calculator

Open Dilution Calculator →
2
The Unequal Split
Technical founder vs. business founder

Two cofounders start a company. One is full-time technical, the other is part-time business. Here's a fair equity split based on contributions.

Tech Founder
70%
Full-time, built product
Business Founder
30%
Part-time, sales/fundraising
How do you split equity with cofounders when contributions are unequal? Example: 2 cofounders, SaaS startup Technical founder (full-time, built MVP): 70% Business founder (part-time, doing sales): 30% The key: equity should reflect contribution, not just "equal split." Split fairly: founder-math.com/equity-split #startup #cofounders #equity #foundertips

Split Equity Fairly

Calculate a fair cofounder equity split based on contributions

Open Equity Split Calculator →
3
The Employee Option
What your 0.5% grant is really worth

You're offered 0.5% equity as an early employee. What's that actually worth at different exit values? (Assuming 10M shares outstanding)

$10M Exit
$50K
50,000 shares × $1
$50M Exit
$250K
50,000 shares × $5
$100M Exit
$500K
50,000 shares × $10
$500M Exit
$2.5M
50,000 shares × $50
You're offered 0.5% equity. What's it actually worth? Assuming 10M shares outstanding (50,000 shares): $10M exit → $50,000 $50M exit → $250,000 $100M exit → $500,000 $500M exit → $2,500,000 The upside is real, but so is the risk. Calculate your offer: founder-math.com/stock-options #startup #equity #employeestockoptions #compensation

Calculate Your Options

See what your stock options are worth at different exits

Open Stock Options Calculator →
4
The SAFE Conversion
How a $500K SAFE converts at Series A

You raise a $500K SAFE with $5M cap. At Series A, you raise $3M at $15M pre-money. What does the SAFE investor get?

SAFE Amount
$500K
Invested upfront
SAFE Cap
$5M
Max valuation
Series A Price
$15M
Higher than cap
SAFE Gets
3.33%
$500K / $15M
How a SAFE note converts: You raise: $500K SAFE, $5M cap Series A: $3M at $15M pre-money The SAFE converts at the CAP (not the Series A price): $500K / $5M cap = 10% of the company... at the SAFE price But at Series A, that's only 3.33% of the post-money. Model your SAFE: founder-math.com/safe #startup #SAFE #fundraising #founders

Model Your SAFE

Calculate SAFE conversion and dilution impact

Open SAFE Calculator →
5
The Runway Reality
$2M raised, $40K monthly burn

You raise $2M with a $40K monthly burn rate. But hiring 3 engineers at $15K/month each changes everything. Here's your real runway.

Initial Runway
50 months
$2M / $40K
After Hiring
25 months
$2M / ($40K + $45K)
Target Runway
18-24 mo
Before next raise
Runway math that catches founders off guard: You raise $2M at $40K/month burn: Initial runway: 50 months 😎 Hire 3 engineers @ $15K each: New burn: $85K/month Real runway: 23 months 😰 You just lost 27 months of runway. Always model hiring before you hire. Calculate yours: founder-math.com/runway #startup #runway #burnrate #founders

Calculate Your Runway

Model burn rate and hiring plans

Open Runway Calculator →

These scenarios are for educational purposes. Actual outcomes vary based on many factors. Always consult with legal and financial professionals for your specific situation.