Pre-money valuation, the founder's lens.
Most calculators ask "what's your post-money?". The founder version asks "how much can I afford to give up?". Sister to postmoneyvaluation.com (cap-table lens). Same verified facts, different perspective. No VC affiliate revenue.
What you typically give up at each stage
Median pre-money + typical dilution % per stage. AI bifurcation premium per stage flagged separately.
| Stage | Pre-money median | Typical check | Typical dilution | Pool refresh | AI premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-seed | $6M | $0.25-$2.5M | ~18% | 10-15% | +25% |
| Seed | $15M | $1-$6M | ~20% | 10-15% | +35% |
| Series A | $48M | $5-$25M | ~22% | 10-12% | +85% |
| Series B | $150M | $15-$50M | ~18% | 5-10% | +70% |
| Series C+ | $400M | $30-$200M | ~15% | 3-8% | +55% |
Verified 2026-06-03 · PitchBook-NVCA Q1 2026 + Carta Q4 2025 (Carta via named secondary writeups)
What each method means for your negotiation
VC Method
Founder reading: this method backs into your pre-money from the VC's required fund return.
Berkus Method
Founder reading: if you're raising at pre-revenue and using this method as your anchor, you're capped at $2.5M pre-money.
Scorecard / Bill Payne
Founder reading: this is the method you can argue against.
Risk Factor Summation
Founder reading: read this as the angel's risk-shopping list.
DCF (early-stage adapted)
Founder reading: building a DCF reveals more about your plan than the resulting number.
Comparables (market multiples)
Founder reading: this is the method you use to defend your number to the VC.
The VC, the founder, and the cap-table platform all see this differently
VC calculators anchor on post-money + investor ownership %. Cap-table platform calculators (Carta, Pulley, AngelList Stack) anchor on the cap table. Both make sense — but neither starts from where most founders actually start: "how much equity am I willing to give up in this round?"
premoneyvaluation.com starts there. Set your target dilution, the calculator works backwards to the pre-money you need to negotiate. The companion postmoneyvaluation.com covers the cap-table side with the option pool shuffle math worked through.
Same verified facts. Two lenses. Methodology.