| Shareholder / Group | Seed / Entry | Series A | Series B | Series C | Series D | Exit Proceeds ($) | Effective Exit % |
|---|
Estimated payout across varied enterprise exit valuations and cumulative dilution outcomes.
📘 Post-Money vs Pre-Money SAFEs
A post-money SAFE locks an angel’s exact ownership percentage immediately before subsequent priced equity rounds. When priced Series A investors invest, unallocated option pools dilute all prior SAFE holders.
🔄 The Option Pool Shuffle
Lead VCs routinely demand creating or refreshing a 10%–15% unallocated employee stock option pool prior to financing. This forces the dilution entirely onto existing founders and early angels.
🛡️ Pro-Rata Rights
Pro-rata gives angels the legal right to purchase their percentage in future financing rounds to avoid dilution. Skipping pro-rata preserves capital but results in ownership compression as later venture rounds scale.
⚡ 1x Non-Participating Preferred
Preferred shareholders choose either their 1x liquidation capital return OR convert to common stock to take their pro-rata share. In mega exits ($1B+), all preferred investors convert to common.