Founder Equity Dilution: Owning Less Than Your Option Pool

Podcast: The Innovation Attorney Podcast · The Innovation Attorney

Opublikowano: 2026-10-10

Founder Equity Pool Size and Vesting Terms at Company Formation A founder who accepts a ten to fifteen percent employee option pool at formation without negotiating its placement on a post money basis, and who signs a standard four year vesting schedule with no double trigger acceleration, risks reaching a Series C financing holding less equity than the pool created to hire the company’s own staff. Venture financings closed through 2026 show a median founder holding 16.1 percent of a venture backed company at the Series C stage against a median employee option pool of 16.8 percent of that sa...