Option Pool Sizing Benchmarks
Written by Harry Prabandham
Curated by Rubric Financial
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Typical Pool Sizes by Stage
- [Source: Carta Total Comp, Index Ventures Option Plan benchmarks]
- At incorporation: 10-15% of fully diluted shares reserved for the option pool, enough to cover the first 10-20 hires
- Pre-Series A refresh: pool is typically expanded to 10-15% of post-money shares as part of the seed or Series A round
- Series A: investors usually require a 15-20% unallocated pool post-close. This is one of the biggest dilution events for founders
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About the author
Harry PrabandhamFounder & CEO
Founder and CEO of StartupCFO. MBA from Wharton, MS in Computer Science, and decades of experience building and advising venture-backed startups.
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