Why should founder equity planning happen before fundraising?

Founder equity planning should happen before fundraising because investors and counsel will expect ownership, vesting, and contributor treatment to be coherent before diligence accelerates.

Does Startup Locker handle both equity and token planning?

Yes. Founders can model equity, vesting, dilution assumptions, and token allocations in one workspace so ownership planning stays readable before formal documentation.

What should founders decide before they document an equity split?

Founders should decide the ownership split, vesting schedule, contributor treatment, and any cap table cleanup assumptions before documenting the split so later review does not uncover missing logic.

Should token allocation assumptions live alongside cap table planning?

Yes. Token allocation assumptions are easier to manage when they live alongside cap table planning because founders can explain how treasury, investor, contributor, and founder positions relate to the broader ownership model.

How do you model founder equity in a startup?

You model founder equity by defining each founder's ownership percentage, setting vesting schedules with cliff periods, and running dilution scenarios to see how future fundraising rounds affect ownership. Startup Locker provides a free equity modeling workspace where founders can organize splits, vesting, cap table cleanup, and token allocations before sharing with investors or counsel.

Founder equity calculator for startup founders.

Model founder equity, vesting, cap table assumptions, and token allocations before investors, counsel, or internal stakeholders review them.

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What this workflow covers

Founder equity planning — Compare ownership splits with the context founders need before those numbers become part of a formal cap table or formation packet.
Vesting and cleanup — Make vesting assumptions, contributor treatment, and ownership cleanup explicit before fundraising diligence exposes inconsistencies.
Token allocation modeling — Keep token treasury, investor, contributor, and liquidity allocations organized alongside the rest of your startup ownership model.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why should founder equity planning happen before fundraising?: Founder equity planning should happen before fundraising because investors and counsel will expect ownership, vesting, and contributor treatment to be coherent before diligence accelerates. Start with incorporation planning →
Does Startup Locker handle both equity and token planning?: Yes. Founders can model equity, vesting, dilution assumptions, and token allocations in one workspace so ownership planning stays readable before formal documentation.
What should founders decide before they document an equity split?: Founders should decide the ownership split, vesting schedule, contributor treatment, and any cap table cleanup assumptions before documenting the split so later review does not uncover missing logic. Prepare your documents →
Should token allocation assumptions live alongside cap table planning?: Yes. Token allocation assumptions are easier to manage when they live alongside cap table planning because founders can explain how treasury, investor, contributor, and founder positions relate to the broader ownership model.

What founder equity planning includes

Founder equity planning is more than picking a percentage split. It includes agreeing on ownership rationale, defining vesting schedules, handling cliff periods and acceleration triggers, documenting contributor and advisor treatment, and cleaning up cap table assumptions before those numbers appear in legal documents or investor conversations.

A standard four-year vesting schedule with a one-year cliff is common, but not universal. Some founders use reverse vesting, milestone-based vesting, or accelerated vesting on change of control. These decisions should be modeled and documented before they become embedded in restricted stock purchase agreements or operating agreements.

For startups that involve token allocations, keeping treasury, investor, contributor, and liquidity token positions organized alongside the equity cap table ensures the full ownership picture is readable when investors, counsel, or internal stakeholders review it during fundraising due diligence.

Startup Locker provides a workspace where all of these assumptions live together so founders can plan and iterate before formal documentation locks them in.