What You Walk Away With
Dilution: How 100% Becomes 15%
Section titled “Dilution: How 100% Becomes 15%”| Event | Typical dilution |
|---|---|
| Option pool carve-out | −10 to 20% |
| Seed | −15 to 25% |
| Series A | −15 to 25% |
| Series B | −10 to 20% |
| Series C+ (each) | −5 to 15% |
Founders combined typically hold 10–30% by Series C or exit.
The honest caveat: real-world founder ownership at exit ranges from under 5% to over 90% — there’s no reliable average, only patterns.
Worked Example
Section titled “Worked Example”Two co-founders → raised through Series B → ~20% combined ownership → $100M exit:
- Paper value per founder: ~$10M
- After liquidation preferences, option pool, and taxes: ~$5–7M each
That’s the good outcome. Most companies never reach a $100M exit.
Cash Along the Way
Section titled “Cash Along the Way”Founder salaries are survival money, not wealth:
- Pre-seed: minimal to none
- Seed: below market
- Series A: ~$100–150K in high-cost cities, still below market
- Series B: rises, but rarely matches senior big-tech comp
Career-Level Expected Value
Section titled “Career-Level Expected Value”- Y Combinator founders (a heavily selected top tier) averaged $3.8–9.9M/year including illiquid paper value — dropping to $1.1–4.3M/year once discounted for risk and time.
- For the broader population of funded founders, the realistic picture is: below-market pay for years, $0 at the end for the majority, with a minority hitting low-to-mid seven figures.
The averages you hear are dragged upward by a handful of outliers and downward by the many zeros.
Next: Lifestyle Costs