Methodology
How the founder lens works
premoneyvaluation.com uses the same verified data as postmoneyvaluation.com— Q1 2026 PitchBook-NVCA medians, Carta Q4 2025 (cited via secondary writeups where Carta's pages are blocked), YC SAFE 2026 terms, six canonical valuation methods. Two sites, two lenses on the same numbers.
The math, inverted
Most calculators ask for pre-money + investment and output post-money + investor ownership. This site asks for target dilution + investment and works backwards to required pre-money. The math: investor_pct = investment / post_money; total dilution = investor_pct + option_pool_pct (founder pays for pool); post_money = investment / investor_pct.
Typical dilution per stage
Pre-seed 15-20%, seed 18-22%, Series A 20-25%, Series B 15-20%, Series C+ 12-18%. Tighter at later stages because option pool refreshes are smaller and existing equity is more meaningful. Sourced from Carta + PitchBook aggregations.
The option pool gotcha
The single biggest difference between "what the VC tells you" and "what actually happens to your dilution" is the option pool refresh. Standard practice (95% of 2026 priced rounds) puts the pool in the pre-money, which means founders dilute more so the VC gets the full effective pre-money negotiated. A 12% pool refresh effectively adds 12% to your dilution beyond the investor's ownership %. The calculator surfaces this explicitly.
AI bifurcation matters most for founders
In 2026 the AI Series A median pre-money ($78M) is 85% above non-AI ($42M). If you're non-AI, every published "Series A median" in an unstratified dataset overstates your benchmark. The calculator's AI toggle pulls this out explicitly so your benchmark anchors to the right band.
Re-verification cadence
Quarterly against fresh PitchBook + Carta. YC SAFE annually. Pre-deploy CI gate refuses to publish data >90 days stale.
What this is not
Not legal or tax advice. Consult counsel before signing any term sheet. Not a substitute for a fairness opinion. Not commission-driven — we earn no affiliate revenue on any cap-table platform, VC firm, or accelerator listed.