Split founder equity by contribution across idea, capital, time and risk, with vesting applied.
The weights make explicit what is usually left unsaid about why a split is what it is. Vesting then spreads each founder’s stake over the vesting period, with a one-year cliff meaning nothing vests until the first anniversary. Unvested equity is the only protection a founding team has against a co-founder leaving in month three with a quarter of the company.
Founder Equity
Equal split = 100% ÷ founders; annual vesting = each founder’s equity ÷ vesting years
Equal split = 100% ÷ founders; annual vesting = each founder’s equity ÷ vesting years The weights make explicit what is usually left unsaid about why a split is what it is. Vesting then spreads each founder’s stake over the vesting period, with a one-year cliff meaning nothing vests until the first anniversary.
Unvested equity is the only protection a founding team has against a co-founder leaving in month three with a quarter of the company.
This calculator takes 6 inputs: Weight given to originating the idea, Weight given to capital invested, Weight given to full-time commitment, Weight given to expertise and network, Number of founders, Vesting period. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.