Model Ownership Option Pools and Future Dilution
The founder explicitly maps current equity holdings against projected option pools, advisor grants, SAFEs or convertibles, and priced investment rounds. They construct mathematical dilution models across pre-seed, seed, and Series A funding milestones to forecast ownership percentages over time.
Quantifying dilution trajectories provides complete visibility over how future capital raises impact founder, team, and investor stakes. It ensures the venture maintains sufficient equity to incentivise key talent and attract investors without prematurely surrendering control.
A fully dynamic cap table model showing share ownership percentages across at least three future funding scenarios. The model must explicitly include an unallocated Employee Stock Option Plan (ESOP) and defined advisor equity allocations.
Five questions an expert would ask when reviewing your output
Use these to challenge assumptions, pressure-test your logic, and check the quality of this action's output in the context of the parent task and wider venture development.
- 1
Why have you sized the unallocated option pool at this specific percentage, and will it cover key hires up to Series A?
- 2
What assumptions underpin your valuation targets across the modelled pre-seed, seed, and Series A dilution scenarios?
- 3
How do your proposed advisor equity allocations align with market benchmarks and standard vesting schedules?
- 4
What impact does an anti-dilution clause or pre-money option pool shuffle requirement have on founder equity in your worst-case funding scenario?
- 5
How does the projected founder ownership percentage at Series A impact your personal long-term economic and control motivations?