{ "$comment": "BVJ Consulting: equity grant benchmarks. SINGLE SOURCE OF TRUTH for every figure the Equity Grant Calculator (bvj-consulting) and the Portal team actions (bvj-portal, ADV-01 and Sprint G) show about advisor, early-employee and contractor grants and about Employee Incentive Plan (EIP) sizing. No page, engine or test retypes a figure from here. Every table carries its source_id, its publication date, its sample, its population and its unit, and every figure can be placed on the three axes (stage, instrument, population). How to refresh: data/sources/equity-benchmarks-refresh.md. Validated by scripts/check-equity-benchmarks.mjs.", "version": "2026.10.3", "last_reviewed": "2026-10-19", "next_review_due": "2026-11-01", "review_cadence": "monthly, on the 1st, alongside the valuation benchmark check", "unit_default": "pct_fully_diluted", "units": { "pct_fully_diluted": "percent of fully diluted shares, so 1.54 means 1.54%", "pct_share": "percent of the sample, so 31.4 means 31.4% of the advisors", "pct_change": "percent change against the stated base period", "count": "a count of people or companies" }, "terminology": { "pool": "Say EIP or Employee Incentive Plan. 'Option pool' is acceptable only when quoting Carta. Never ESOP.", "stock": "Say certificated stock, never share certificates.", "copy": "Benchmarks describe what the market did. They are not advice on a grant. Pages say 'founders typically' and 'the market median is', never 'you should grant'." }, "sources": [ { "id": "carta-li-2025-12-10-founding-engineers", "publisher": "Carta", "name": "Carta Insights, LinkedIn post of Dec 10 2025: first five engineering hires, full initial grant by hire number", "url": "https://carta.com/data/linkedin-founding-engineer-equity-1-54-percent/", "archive_url": "https://carta.com/data/linkedin-archive/", "published": "2025-12-10", "retrieved": "2026-10-18", "slide_image": "Desktop folder 'Carta benchmarks (from carta.com archive)', PNG dated 2025-12-10, founding engineers", "notes": "4,473 engineers among the first 5 hires at US tech startups on Carta, grants made Q1 2024 to Q3 2025. Salaried hires. Percent of fully diluted shares." }, { "id": "carta-li-2024-11-first-10-hires", "publisher": "Carta", "name": "Carta Insights, LinkedIn post of Nov 2024: median initial grant to the first 10 hires, all functions, 2024 grants", "url": "https://carta.com/data/linkedin-archive/", "published": "2024-11", "retrieved": "2026-10-18", "slide_image": "Desktop folder 'Carta benchmarks (from carta.com archive)', PNG dated Nov 2024, first 10 hires", "notes": "Month precision: confirm the day against the slide image's file name at the next review. Grants of 10% or more excluded as founder-level." }, { "id": "carta-li-2024-11-26-first-hire-by-sector", "publisher": "Carta", "name": "Carta Insights, LinkedIn post of Nov 26 2024: first hire median grant by sector", "url": "https://carta.com/data/linkedin-archive/", "published": "2024-11-26", "retrieved": "2026-10-18", "slide_image": "Desktop folder 'Carta benchmarks (from carta.com archive)', PNG dated 2024-11-26, first hire by sector", "notes": "Hire #1 median: 2.01% biotech, 1.45% SaaS. 2024 grants." }, { "id": "carta-li-2025-01-first-10-hires", "publisher": "Carta", "name": "Carta Insights, LinkedIn post of Jan 2025: first 10 hires, cumulative equity and qualitative notes, 2024 grants", "url": "https://carta.com/data/linkedin-archive/", "published": "2025-01", "retrieved": "2026-10-18", "slide_image": "Desktop folder 'Carta benchmarks (from carta.com archive)', PNG dated Jan 2025, first 10 hires", "notes": "Month precision: confirm the day against the slide image's file name at the next review. 8,000 to 9,000+ grants made in 2024." }, { "id": "carta-state-of-startup-compensation-2026-05-06", "publisher": "Carta", "name": "Carta, State of Startup Compensation, May 6 2026", "url": "https://carta.com/data/", "published": "2026-05-06", "retrieved": "2026-10-18", "slide_image": "Desktop folder 'Carta benchmarks (from carta.com archive)', PNG dated 2026-05-06, compensation", "notes": "1M+ employees at 60,000 startups. Equity packages and salaries since Jan 2024; AI engineering over 18 months; headcount at seed and Series A." }, { "id": "carta-li-2026-03-24-equity-package-by-function", "publisher": "Carta", "name": "Carta Insights, LinkedIn post of Mar 24 2026: change in median equity package by function since Jan 2023", "url": "https://carta.com/data/linkedin-archive/", "published": "2026-03-24", "retrieved": "2026-10-18", "slide_image": "Desktop folder 'Carta benchmarks (from carta.com archive)', PNG dated 2026-03-24, equity package by function", "notes": "L4 and L5 employees at companies valued $25M to $500M." }, { "id": "carta-li-2026-01-29-preseed-advisors", "publisher": "Carta", "name": "Carta Insights, LinkedIn post of Jan 29 2026: equity granted to advisors by pre-seed startups in 2025", "url": "https://carta.com/data/linkedin-pre-seed-advisor-equity-0-24-percent/", "archive_url": "https://carta.com/data/linkedin-archive/", "published": "2026-01-29", "retrieved": "2026-10-18", "slide_image": "Desktop folder 'Carta benchmarks (from carta.com archive)', PNG dated 2026-01-29, advisors", "notes": "1,019 US advisors receiving equity from pre-seed startups in 2025. Percent of fully diluted shares." }, { "id": "carta-cheatsheet-2023-09-15-advisor-equity", "publisher": "Carta", "name": "Carta, advisor equity cheatsheet, Sep 15 2023, 20,000+ advisors", "url": "https://carta.com/data/linkedin-archive/", "published": "2023-09-15", "retrieved": "2026-10-18", "slide_image": "Desktop folder 'Carta benchmarks (from carta.com archive)', PNG dated 2023-09-15, advisor cheatsheet", "notes": "Medians by stage. Pre-seed value superseded by the Jan 29 2026 post; seed and Series A values confirmed by 2024 citations and labelled 2023 to 2024 vintage." }, { "id": "founder-institute-fast-v2-2024", "publisher": "Founder Institute", "name": "Founder / Advisor Standard Template (FAST), version 2.0, 2024 edition", "url": "https://fi.co/fast", "published": "2024", "retrieved": "2026-10-18", "slide_image": "n/a (template document, not a slide)", "superseded_by": "founder-institute-fast-v3-2026", "notes": "Grid confirmed by Benjamin on 2026-10-18 against the FAST document analysed for bvj-portal (advisor agreement field analysis). Superseded by version 3.0 (July 2026) on 2026-10-19; kept so a reader of an older dataset version can still resolve the id. No table reads it." }, { "id": "founder-institute-fast-v3-2026", "publisher": "Founder Institute", "name": "Founder / Advisor Standard Template (FAST), version 3.0, July 2026", "url": "https://fi.co/fast", "published": "2026-07", "retrieved": "2026-10-19", "slide_image": "n/a (template document, not a slide; the .docx is filed in Drive beside the v2.0 copy)", "notes": "Grid read from Schedule A of the v3.0 document Benjamin supplied on 2026-10-19 (FI_FAST_Agreement_v3.0.docx). Every cell moved from v2.0 and the stage columns were renamed; see data/sources/founder-institute-fast-v3-2026.md for the diff. Yearly source check." }, { "id": "carta-li-2026-01-20-option-pool-by-stage", "publisher": "Carta", "name": "Carta Insights, LinkedIn post of Jan 20 2026: 'Don't start your option pool at 15%', employee option pool by stage", "url": "https://carta.com/data/linkedin-archive/", "published": "2026-01-20", "retrieved": "2026-10-18", "slide_image": "Desktop folder 'Carta benchmarks (from carta.com archive)', PNG dated 2026-01-20, option pool by stage", "notes": "4,736 employee option pools from US software startups that raised in 2025. Pool as percent of fully diluted after the round." }, { "id": "carta-li-2023-04-preseed-option-pool", "publisher": "Carta", "name": "Carta Insights, LinkedIn post of Apr 2023: option pool at pre-seed", "url": "https://carta.com/data/linkedin-archive/", "published": "2023-04", "retrieved": "2026-10-18", "slide_image": "Desktop folder 'Carta benchmarks (from carta.com archive)', PNG dated Apr 2023, pre-seed option pool", "notes": "Month precision: confirm the day against the slide image's file name. Older vintage, kept for the pre-seed row only." }, { "id": "carta-li-2026-02-23-founders-vs-pool", "publisher": "Carta", "name": "Carta Insights, LinkedIn post of Feb 23 2026: founders vs employee pool ownership right after the round, by stage", "url": "https://carta.com/data/linkedin-archive/", "published": "2026-02-23", "retrieved": "2026-10-18", "slide_image": "Desktop folder 'Carta benchmarks (from carta.com archive)', PNG dated 2026-02-23, founders vs pool", "notes": "3,901 companies that raised in 2024 or 2025. Founders and pool only." }, { "id": "carta-li-2026-03-09-cap-table-by-stage", "publisher": "Carta", "name": "Carta Insights, LinkedIn post of Mar 9 2026: full cap table allocation right after the round, by stage", "url": "https://carta.com/data/linkedin-archive/", "published": "2026-03-09", "retrieved": "2026-10-18", "slide_image": "Desktop folder 'Carta benchmarks (from carta.com archive)', PNG dated 2026-03-09, cap table by stage", "notes": "9,304 startups that raised 2023 to 2025. Founders, employee pool, sold in the round, prior investors." }, { "id": "carta-li-2026-04-27-exits-by-capital-raised", "publisher": "Carta", "name": "Carta Insights, LinkedIn post of Apr 27 2026: acquired US startups by total cash raised", "url": "https://carta.com/data/linkedin-archive/", "published": "2026-04-27", "retrieved": "2026-10-18", "slide_image": "Desktop folder 'Carta benchmarks (from carta.com archive)', PNG dated 2026-04-27, exits by capital raised", "notes": "3,903 acquired US startups, 2024 through Q1 2026." }, { "id": "bvj-convention-2026-10", "publisher": "BVJ Consulting", "name": "BVJ Consulting modelling conventions for the Equity Grant Calculator, October 2026", "url": "https://github.com/benjamin-bvjconsulting/bvj-consulting/blob/main/data/sources/equity-benchmarks-refresh.md", "published": "2026-10-18", "retrieved": "2026-10-18", "slide_image": "n/a", "notes": "Not a market benchmark. Modelling choices the engine needs as numbers, kept here so that no logic hardcodes them, each with its rationale." }, { "id": "carta-state-of-preseed-2026-q2", "publisher": "Carta", "name": "State of Pre-Seed Q2 2026", "url": "https://carta.com/data/state-of-pre-seed-q2-2026/", "published": "2026-08-13", "retrieved": "2026-08-13", "slide_image": "n/a (full report; see data/sources/carta-state-of-preseed-q2-2026.md)", "notes": "The round-size bands the SAFE Calculator uses (benchmarks.js safeBands). Read here for one figure only: the $2.5M cut above which Carta calls a SAFE round \"Seed on SAFEs\"." } ], "tables": { "employee_grants_engineering": { "title": "Full 4-year initial grant to the first 5 engineering hires", "source_id": "carta-li-2025-12-10-founding-engineers", "published": "2025-12-10", "sample": 4473, "sample_unit": "engineers", "population": "Engineers who were among the first 5 hires at US tech startups on Carta, grants made Q1 2024 to Q3 2025. Salaried hires.", "stage": "pre-seed and seed heavy (first 5 hires); shown unchanged at Series A with a sample note", "instrument": "initial equity grant (options or restricted stock), full 4-year grant", "unit": "pct_fully_diluted", "key": "hire", "rows": [ { "hire": 1, "p25": 0.61, "p50": 1.54, "p75": 4.13 }, { "hire": 2, "p25": 0.43, "p50": 1, "p75": 2 }, { "hire": 3, "p25": 0.28, "p50": 0.61, "p75": 1.45 }, { "hire": 4, "p25": 0.25, "p50": 0.5, "p75": 1 }, { "hire": 5, "p25": 0.24, "p50": 0.48, "p75": 0.98 } ], "notes": [ "Carta's data covers salaried hires. A contributor working for equity only, or well below market cash, can defensibly land above the median for the same seat (see contractor_conventions).", "The medians of the first five hires sum to 4.13%, which is the figure the EIP sizing test vector uses." ] }, "employee_grants_all_functions": { "title": "Median full 4-year initial grant to the first 10 hires, all functions", "source_id": "carta-li-2024-11-first-10-hires", "source_ids": [ "carta-li-2024-11-first-10-hires", "carta-li-2025-01-first-10-hires", "carta-li-2024-11-26-first-hire-by-sector" ], "published": "2024-11", "sample": 8000, "sample_unit": "grants (8,000 to 9,000+, the two posts quote different counts)", "population": "Initial grants to the first 10 hires at US startups on Carta, all functions, grants made in 2024. Grants of 10% or more excluded as founder-level.", "stage": "pre-seed and seed heavy (first 10 hires)", "instrument": "initial equity grant (options or restricted stock), full 4-year grant", "unit": "pct_fully_diluted", "key": "hire", "percentiles_published": [ "p50" ], "rows": [ { "hire": 1, "p50": 1.49 }, { "hire": 2, "p50": 0.85 }, { "hire": 3, "p50": 0.5 }, { "hire": 4, "p50": 0.44 }, { "hire": 5, "p50": 0.34 }, { "hire": "6-10", "p50": 0.3, "approximate": true, "note": "about 0.30, declining with each hire" } ], "cumulative_p50": { "first_5": 3.62, "first_10_under": 5, "note": "first 5 hires 3.62% at the median; first 10 hires under 5%. Carta's 'about 0.30%, declining' for hires 6 to 10 therefore means 0.30% at hire 6 falling to the mid 0.2s by hire 10: the five together add under 1.38%, an average under 0.28%." }, "hire_1_by_sector": { "source_id": "carta-li-2024-11-26-first-hire-by-sector", "published": "2024-11-26", "unit": "pct_fully_diluted", "rows": [ { "sector": "biotech", "p50": 2.01 }, { "sector": "saas", "p50": 1.45 } ] }, "qualitative": [ "Engineering hires sit at the high end of the ranges; business hires sit mid to low.", "Solo founders grant more to early hires.", "The first couple of hires may receive restricted stock awards (RSAs); most employees receive incentive stock options (ISOs)." ], "notes": [ "This table only publishes medians. The engine builds a band around the median with the multipliers in parameters.all_functions_band, and says so in its explanations." ] }, "employee_context": { "title": "Compensation context for the explanations and the editorial block", "source_id": "carta-state-of-startup-compensation-2026-05-06", "source_ids": [ "carta-state-of-startup-compensation-2026-05-06", "carta-li-2026-03-24-equity-package-by-function" ], "published": "2026-05-06", "sample": 1000000, "sample_unit": "employees at 60,000 startups", "population": "Employees at US startups on Carta", "stage": "all stages", "instrument": "equity packages and salaries", "unit": "mixed, stated per fact", "facts": [ { "id": "equity_packages_change_since_2024_01", "label": "Median equity package since Jan 2024", "value": 13, "unit": "pct_change", "base": "2024-01", "source_id": "carta-state-of-startup-compensation-2026-05-06" }, { "id": "salaries_change_since_2024_01", "label": "Median salary since Jan 2024", "value": 5.1, "unit": "pct_change", "base": "2024-01", "source_id": "carta-state-of-startup-compensation-2026-05-06" }, { "id": "ai_engineering_equity_change_18m", "label": "AI engineering equity packages over 18 months", "value": 31, "unit": "pct_change", "base": "18 months before 2026-05", "source_id": "carta-state-of-startup-compensation-2026-05-06" }, { "id": "ai_engineering_salary_change_18m", "label": "AI engineering salaries over 18 months", "value": 10, "unit": "pct_change", "base": "18 months before 2026-05", "source_id": "carta-state-of-startup-compensation-2026-05-06" }, { "id": "headcount_seed_median", "label": "Median seed company headcount, excluding founders", "value": 5, "unit": "count", "source_id": "carta-state-of-startup-compensation-2026-05-06" }, { "id": "headcount_series_a_median", "label": "Median Series A company headcount, excluding founders", "value": 16, "range": [ 15, 17 ], "unit": "count", "source_id": "carta-state-of-startup-compensation-2026-05-06" } ], "equity_package_change_by_function": { "source_id": "carta-li-2026-03-24-equity-package-by-function", "published": "2026-03-24", "population": "L4 and L5 employees at companies valued $25M to $500M", "base": "2023-01", "unit": "pct_change", "rows": [ { "function": "product", "value": 16.7 }, { "function": "engineering", "value": 15 }, { "function": "operations", "value": 11.1 }, { "function": "marketing", "value": 0.8 }, { "function": "sales", "value": -11.3 }, { "function": "people", "value": -14.8 } ] }, "notes": [ "Context only. Nothing here multiplies a grant range: a change in the median package at L4 and L5 of a $25M+ company is a different population from a first-10 hire." ] }, "advisor_grants_preseed": { "title": "Equity granted to advisors by pre-seed startups, 2025", "source_id": "carta-li-2026-01-29-preseed-advisors", "published": "2026-01-29", "sample": 1019, "sample_unit": "advisors", "population": "US advisors receiving equity from pre-seed startups on Carta in 2025", "stage": "pre-seed", "instrument": "advisor equity grant (options or restricted stock)", "unit": "pct_fully_diluted", "p50": 0.24, "share_under_0_3_pct": 64, "share_1_pct_or_more": 9.2, "distribution": { "unit": "pct_share", "bands": [ { "min": 0, "max": 0.1, "label": "under 0.1%", "share": 31.4 }, { "min": 0.1, "max": 0.2, "label": "0.1 to 0.19%", "share": 14.8 }, { "min": 0.2, "max": 0.3, "label": "0.2 to 0.29%", "share": 17.7 }, { "min": 0.3, "max": 0.4, "label": "0.3 to 0.39%", "share": 5.2 }, { "min": 0.4, "max": 0.5, "label": "0.4 to 0.49%", "share": 6.3 }, { "min": 0.5, "max": 0.6, "label": "0.5 to 0.59%", "share": 5.5 }, { "min": 0.6, "max": 0.7, "label": "0.6 to 0.69%", "share": 1.8 }, { "min": 0.7, "max": 0.8, "label": "0.7 to 0.79%", "share": 2.6 }, { "min": 0.8, "max": 0.9, "label": "0.8 to 0.89%", "share": 4.1 }, { "min": 0.9, "max": 1, "label": "0.9 to 0.99%", "share": 1.5 }, { "min": 1, "max": null, "label": "1%+", "share": 9.2 } ] }, "derived_percentiles": { "derived": true, "method": "Linear interpolation inside the published bands, rounded to the nearest 0.01 for p25 and to the nearest 0.1 above. p50 is Carta's published median, not interpolated. Label these as derived wherever they are shown.", "p25": 0.08, "p50": 0.24, "p75": 0.5, "p90": 1 }, "notes": [ "64% of pre-seed advisors receive under 0.3%; about 1 in 10 receive 1% or more.", "Shares sum to 100.1 because of rounding in the published chart." ] }, "advisor_grants_by_stage": { "title": "Median advisor grant by company stage", "source_id": "carta-cheatsheet-2023-09-15-advisor-equity", "source_ids": [ "carta-cheatsheet-2023-09-15-advisor-equity", "carta-li-2026-01-29-preseed-advisors" ], "published": "2023-09-15", "sample": 20000, "sample_unit": "advisors (20,000+)", "population": "Advisors receiving equity from US startups on Carta", "stage": "pre-seed, seed, Series A", "instrument": "advisor equity grant (options or restricted stock)", "unit": "pct_fully_diluted", "key": "stage", "rows": [ { "stage": "pre_seed", "p50": 0.24, "p50_2023": 0.23, "vintage": "2025 grants (Jan 29 2026 post); 0.23% in the 2023 cheatsheet", "source_id": "carta-li-2026-01-29-preseed-advisors" }, { "stage": "seed", "p50": 0.11, "p50_range": [ 0.1, 0.12 ], "vintage": "2023 to 2024", "flag_vintage": true, "source_id": "carta-cheatsheet-2023-09-15-advisor-equity" }, { "stage": "series_a", "p50": 0.06, "p50_range": [ 0.05, 0.07 ], "vintage": "2023 to 2024", "flag_vintage": true, "source_id": "carta-cheatsheet-2023-09-15-advisor-equity" } ], "notes": [ "p50 for seed and Series A is the midpoint of the range Carta quotes. The engine shows the range and flags the vintage whenever it uses one of them.", "The idea stage has no Carta row: companies at the idea stage are not on Carta yet. The engine uses the pre-seed row for idea-stage companies and says so." ] }, "advisor_fast_grid": { "title": "Founder / Advisor Standard Template (FAST) equity grid", "source_id": "founder-institute-fast-v3-2026", "published": "2026-07", "sample": null, "sample_unit": "n/a (a template, not a survey)", "population": "n/a (a structured template published by the Founder Institute, widely used as a negotiation reference)", "stage": "pre-seed, seed, Series A, as FAST v3.0 defines them in its Schedule B", "instrument": "advisor equity grant, non-qualified stock options (v3.0; v2.0 also allowed restricted stock)", "unit": "pct_fully_diluted", "levels": { "standard": "Quarterly strategy meetings, 5 to 10 hours a month, and promotion and introductions through the advisor's network.", "strategic": "Standard, plus monthly strategy meetings, recruiting help and at least one meeting with a potential customer, investor or partner.", "expert": "Strategic, plus hands-on work on at least one strategic project, bi-monthly meetings and marquee customer and partner introductions." }, "stage_labels": { "pre_seed": "Pre-seed", "seed": "Seed", "series_a": "Series A" }, "stages": { "pre_seed": "One to three cofounders, little or no revenue, an MVP or mockups, friends and family money at most.", "seed": "Full-time founders, initial revenue, a product built and validated by paying customers.", "series_a": "Full-time founders with employees, significant revenue and traction, a commercially scalable product." }, "engine_stage_map": { "idea": "pre_seed", "pre_seed": "pre_seed", "seed": "seed", "series_a": "series_a" }, "grid": { "pre_seed": { "standard": 0.5, "strategic": 0.75, "expert": 1 }, "seed": { "standard": 0.25, "strategic": 0.5, "expert": 0.75 }, "series_a": { "standard": 0.1, "strategic": 0.25, "expert": 0.5 } }, "default_terms": { "vesting_months": 24, "cadence": "monthly", "cliff_months": 3, "acceleration": "single_trigger_on_sale", "documentation_deadline_days": 90, "instrument": "nso", "exercise_price": "fmv_at_effective_date", "hours_per_month": { "low": 5, "high": 10 }, "note": "FAST v3.0 default terms: 2-year monthly vesting with a 3-month cliff, single-trigger acceleration on a sale of the company, non-qualified stock options only with the exercise price at fair market value on the Effective Date, 5 to 10 hours a month at every level, and the company commits to seek board approval and deliver the definitive option agreement within 90 days." }, "notes": [ "FAST is a template, so its cells are what a structured negotiation starts from, not what the market granted. Show it side by side with Carta: 'Market practice (Carta) vs structured template (FAST)'.", "The engine never recommends above the FAST Expert cell for the stage without a manual override.", "Version 3.0 (July 2026) renamed v2.0's Idea / Startup / Growth columns Pre-Seed / Seed / Series A and moved every cell: the earliest Standard and Strategic cells rose, every later-stage cell fell, and the levels are no longer 1x / 2x / 4x of Standard. The time commitment is 5 to 10 hours a month at every level (v2.0: 5, 10 and 20), the security is non-qualified stock options only, and the company has 90 days, not 30, to paper the grant.", "v3.0 measures the percentage on the fully diluted count as of the Effective Date in its section 2 and as of board approval in its Schedule A. The engine shows the percentage and leaves the measurement date to the agreement.", "Agreements signed on v2.0 keep v2.0's grid and terms. The Portal's extraction reads the agreement in front of it, not this grid." ] }, "eip_pool_by_stage": { "title": "Employee option pool as percent of fully diluted after the round, by stage", "source_id": "carta-li-2026-01-20-option-pool-by-stage", "source_ids": [ "carta-li-2026-01-20-option-pool-by-stage", "carta-li-2023-04-preseed-option-pool" ], "published": "2026-01-20", "sample": 4736, "sample_unit": "employee option pools", "population": "US software startups on Carta that raised a priced round in 2025", "stage": "seed through Series E (pre-seed from an older post)", "instrument": "Employee Incentive Plan (Carta: option pool), post-round, percent of fully diluted", "unit": "pct_fully_diluted", "key": "stage", "rows": [ { "stage": "pre_seed", "p25": 0, "p50": 10, "p75": null, "approximate": true, "vintage": "Apr 2023", "flag_vintage": true, "source_id": "carta-li-2023-04-preseed-option-pool", "note": "Older post. p25 of 0%: many young companies have no plan yet. Median near 10%. No p75 published." }, { "stage": "seed", "p25": 9.3, "p50": 12, "p75": 16.4 }, { "stage": "series_a", "p25": 11, "p50": 14.5, "p75": 19.2 }, { "stage": "series_b", "p25": 12.5, "p50": 16.2, "p75": 20 }, { "stage": "series_c", "p25": 14, "p50": 18, "p75": 22.2 }, { "stage": "series_d", "p25": 15.2, "p50": 18.2, "p75": 22.4 }, { "stage": "series_e", "p25": 15.1, "p50": 20.2, "p75": 26.2 } ], "carta_guidance": { "start_pool_pct_range": [ 8, 10 ], "quote": "Start the pool at 8 to 10% and expand it at each raise.", "title_quote": "Don't start your option pool at 15%" }, "notes": [ "Post-round basis: the pool is measured after the round closes, so a pool sized into the pre-money reads smaller once the new money is in.", "The idea stage has no row: the engine uses the pre-seed row and names the Apr 2023 vintage." ] }, "ownership_by_stage": { "title": "Median cap table allocation right after the round closes, by stage", "source_id": "carta-li-2026-03-09-cap-table-by-stage", "source_ids": [ "carta-li-2026-03-09-cap-table-by-stage", "carta-li-2026-02-23-founders-vs-pool" ], "published": "2026-03-09", "sample": 9304, "sample_unit": "startups", "population": "US startups on Carta that raised 2023 to 2025 (full cap table series); 3,901 that raised 2024 or 2025 (founders vs pool series)", "stage": "seed through Series D", "instrument": "ownership of fully diluted shares right after the round", "unit": "pct_fully_diluted", "key": "stage", "series": { "full_cap_table_2026_03_09": { "source_id": "carta-li-2026-03-09-cap-table-by-stage", "published": "2026-03-09", "sample": 9304, "population": "9,304 startups that raised 2023 to 2025", "columns": [ "founders", "employee_pool", "sold_in_round", "prior_investors" ], "rows": [ { "stage": "seed", "founders": 54.8, "employee_pool": 12.1, "sold_in_round": 20.6, "prior_investors": 12.5 }, { "stage": "series_a", "founders": 35.6, "employee_pool": 14.4, "sold_in_round": 20, "prior_investors": 30 }, { "stage": "series_b", "founders": 21.8, "employee_pool": 15.6, "sold_in_round": 16.5, "prior_investors": 46.1 }, { "stage": "series_c", "founders": 16.1, "employee_pool": 16.8, "sold_in_round": 12.6, "prior_investors": 54.5 }, { "stage": "series_d", "founders": 10.4, "employee_pool": 18.2, "sold_in_round": 10.2, "prior_investors": 61.2 } ] }, "founders_vs_pool_2026_02_23": { "source_id": "carta-li-2026-02-23-founders-vs-pool", "published": "2026-02-23", "sample": 3901, "population": "3,901 companies that raised in 2024 or 2025", "columns": [ "founders", "employee_pool" ], "rows": [ { "stage": "seed", "founders": 56.2, "employee_pool": 12 }, { "stage": "series_a", "founders": 37.5, "employee_pool": 14.6 }, { "stage": "series_b", "founders": 23.8, "employee_pool": 16.3 }, { "stage": "series_c", "founders": 18.5, "employee_pool": 17.8 }, { "stage": "series_d", "founders": 14.7, "employee_pool": 19 } ] } }, "notes": [ "Two series, two populations, two dates. Quote one at a time with its source. Never average them." ] }, "exits_by_capital_raised": { "title": "Acquired US startups by total cash raised before the acquisition", "source_id": "carta-li-2026-04-27-exits-by-capital-raised", "published": "2026-04-27", "sample": 3903, "sample_unit": "acquired startups", "population": "US startups on Carta acquired in 2024, 2025 or Q1 2026", "stage": "all stages at exit", "instrument": "share of acquisitions by total cash raised", "unit": "pct_share", "columns": [ "under_10m", "10m_to_24m", "25m_to_49m", "50m_to_99m", "100m_plus" ], "column_labels": { "under_10m": "under $10M", "10m_to_24m": "$10M to $24M", "25m_to_49m": "$25M to $49M", "50m_to_99m": "$50M to $99M", "100m_plus": "$100M+" }, "rows": [ { "period": "2024", "n": 640, "under_10m": 46, "10m_to_24m": 21, "25m_to_49m": 16, "50m_to_99m": 9, "100m_plus": 8 }, { "period": "2025", "n": 796, "under_10m": 46, "10m_to_24m": 22, "25m_to_49m": 12, "50m_to_99m": 10, "100m_plus": 10 }, { "period": "Q1 2026", "n": 217, "under_10m": 42, "10m_to_24m": 25, "25m_to_49m": 13, "50m_to_99m": 12, "100m_plus": 8 } ], "headline": { "share_under_50m": 80, "text": "80% of acquired startups had raised less than $50M." }, "notes": [ "Used in the report's 'why equity is worth negotiating carefully' block and in the SAFE Calculator. Early percentages are often what employees and advisors actually cash." ] }, "contractor_conventions": { "title": "Contractors and consultants: conventions, no Carta benchmark", "source_id": "bvj-convention-2026-10", "published": "2026-10-18", "sample": null, "sample_unit": "n/a", "population": "n/a (conventions, labelled as such wherever they are shown)", "stage": "any", "instrument": "equity for services: NSOs or restricted stock, never ISOs", "unit": "n/a", "kind": "convention", "conventions": [ { "id": "services_value_method", "text": "Equity-for-services value = services value / FMV per share (409A), optionally with a risk premium that the founder sets." }, { "id": "salaried_data_caveat", "text": "Carta employee data covers salaried hires. A contributor working for equity only, or well below market cash, can defensibly land above the employee median for the same seat." }, { "id": "no_iso_for_non_employees", "text": "Contractors and advisors are not eligible for ISOs; they receive NSOs or restricted stock awards." }, { "id": "ip_assignment", "text": "A contractor paid in equity still needs an IP assignment in the consulting agreement; equity does not transfer the work product." } ], "notes": [ "When servicesValueUsd and fmvPerShare are unknown, the engine falls back to the employee table for the equivalent seat with the equity-only adjustment and labels the result a proxy." ] } }, "parameters": { "$comment": "BVJ modelling choices the engine needs as numbers. They are not market benchmarks and are labelled as such in explanations. Kept here so no logic hardcodes a figure.", "source_id": "bvj-convention-2026-10", "all_functions_band": { "low_multiplier": 0.6, "high_multiplier": 2, "rationale": "The all-functions table publishes medians only. In the engineering table, p25/p50 sits between 0.43 and 0.50 at hires 2 to 5 and p75/p50 between 2.0 and 2.4. 2.0x matches that upper spread. 0.6x is a touch tighter than the lower one because Carta places business hires mid to low in the range, so their floor sits closer to the median." }, "hires_6_to_10_band": { "low": 0.15, "p50": 0.3, "high": 0.6, "rationale": "Carta quotes 'about 0.30%, declining' for hires 6 to 10 and publishes no percentiles. The band runs from half the median to twice the median (0.15 to 0.60), the spread the brief fixes for these seats." }, "advisor_range": { "low": "carta_stage_median", "median": "midpoint_of_carta_median_and_fast_cell", "high": "fast_cell", "ceiling": "fast_expert_cell_for_stage", "rationale": "Market practice bounds the low end; the structured template bounds the high end. Nothing above the FAST Expert cell without a manual override." }, "eip_buffer_default_pct": { "value": 25, "rationale": "Carta's 'a little wiggle room' (Jan 20 2026 post), set at a quarter of the planned grants. The user can change it." }, "eip_flags": { "above_p75_label": "larger than 75% of comparable startups", "large_pool_pct": 20, "large_pool_before_stage": "series_c", "large_pool_label": "Carta: don't start at 15 to 20%", "rationale": "20% before Series C is the Carta post's own warning line; p75 is the dataset row for the stage." }, "eip_plan_horizons_months": [ 12, 24 ], "pool_math": { "formula": "poolShares = target * FD / (1 - target), FD being fully diluted shares before the pool, target the post-pool percentage as a fraction", "rounding": "Share counts shown to a founder are rounded down to whole shares. The test vector FD 5,555,555 at 7% post-pool computes to 418,160.05 shares, so it reads 418,160 whether rounded or floored." }, "percentile_shift": { "lead": "toward_p75", "exec": "p75_as_low_end", "below_market_cash": "toward_p75", "equity_only": "p75_or_above", "rationale": "Qualitative shifts Carta itself describes (engineering and scarce seniority sit high in the range; less cash means more equity). Each shift is one sentence in the explanations, never a silent multiplier." }, "vesting_defaults": { "employee": { "years": 4, "cliff_months": 12, "cadence": "monthly" }, "advisor": { "years": 2, "cliff_months": 3, "cliff_optional": true, "cadence": "monthly", "acceleration": "single_trigger_on_sale", "source_id": "founder-institute-fast-v2-2024" }, "contractor": { "note": "Tied to the term of the engagement or to milestones. NSO or restricted stock only." } }, "instrument_rules": { "iso_employees_only": true, "rsa_83b_election_days": 30, "valuation_409a_validity_months": 12, "valuation_409a_invalidated_by": "a material event", "iso_annual_vesting_limit_usd": 100000, "note": "Educational text on the website. The ISO qualification rules (IRC 422, the $100K first-exercisable limit) are validated in the Portal engine, not on the website." }, "stage_rule": { "seed_on_safes_floor_usd": 2500000, "source_id": "carta-state-of-preseed-2026-q2", "rationale": "Carta's State of Pre-Seed cuts SAFE rounds by size and calls the $2.5M+ band Seed on SAFEs; the same cut is safeBands in benchmarks.js. The Portal reads it to place a company that has SAFEs or convertible notes on file and no priced round: under the floor it is pre-seed, at or above it is seed. A priced round names its own stage. Not a market benchmark: a boundary Carta drew." } } }