Co-founder Equity Calculator
Calculate a fair co-founder equity split from role, time commitment, cash investment, and idea origin. Free, transparent weighted model, no sign-up.
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What is Co-founder Equity Calculator?
The Co-founder Equity Calculator is a free online tool that helps startup founders negotiate a fair equity split. Instead of guessing, you enter each co-founder’s role, time commitment, cash investment, and whether they originated the idea. A transparent weighted model converts those inputs into points and then into a percentage split for each founder, shown in a color-coded stacked bar.
Key Benefits
- Replaces gut-feel negotiations with a transparent, explainable formula
- Balances role, time, cash, and idea origin in one model
- Adjustable cash conversion rate lets you tune how much cash matters
- Supports 2–8 co-founders so early teams of any size can use it
- 100% client-side — sensitive equity discussions never leave your browser
Common Use Cases
- •Two-person founding teams dividing equity 50/50 or otherwise
- •Early-stage startups adding a late co-founder or key early hire
- •Founders explaining the rationale behind a split to advisors or investors
- •Student or hackathon teams deciding ownership before forming a company
- •Anyone re-opening an equity conversation that drifted off track
How to Use the Co-founder Equity Calculator
- Set the cash conversion rate: Decide how much cash equals 1 equity point. A lower value makes cash contributions matter more in the final split.
- Add your co-founders: Enter each founder, or click Add Founder to include up to 8 people.
- Pick role and commitment: For each founder choose their role (CEO, CTO, etc.), time commitment (full-time, part-time, advisory), cash invested, and whether they originated the idea.
- Read the equity split: The tool weighs every factor, totals the points, and shows each founder’s percentage in a color-coded stacked bar. Copy the summary to share.
Key Features
- Weighted model combining role importance, time commitment, cash investment, and idea origin.
- Supports 2–8 co-founders with add/remove on the fly.
- Adjustable cash-to-points conversion rate so cash contributions matter as much (or little) as you want.
- Visual stacked equity bar with per-founder color coding for instant clarity.
- Copy the full breakdown to share with your team or advisor.