SAFE vs. Priced Round: the full cap table lifecycle
Model your ownership from founding through a raise to an exit or buyback and see exactly how a SAFE’s cap and discount, an option pool top up, and revenue growth each move your number.
Valuation cap vs. standard valuation
A cap sets the highest price your SAFE investors will ever pay, no matter how high your next round runs. A priced round’s valuation isn’t capped. It’s the number the market sets today, after real diligence.
Conversion at cap vs. standard conversion
A SAFE converts at whichever price is lower: the cap price, or the round price with the discount applied. If you grew a lot, the cap usually wins. Early money buys in far cheaper than the new round.
Option pool
Shares set aside for future hires, created before new money comes in. That timing matters: pool dilution lands on the founders, not on the incoming investor.
409A valuation
An independent, IRS-required appraisal of your common stock, used to set option strike prices. It’s almost always lower than your round’s valuation, because that number prices preferred stock which carries protections common stock doesn’t have.
Choose the lifecycle
This tool teaches the mechanics. The spreadsheet models your company.
Everything above uses example numbers so you can see how a SAFE, a priced round, an exit, and a buyback each move ownership. The $15 spreadsheet version is the same model, unlocked with your own numbers. You’re free to edit, save, and reuse for every future round.
- Snapshot of shares issued today
- No SAFE conversion logic
- No exit or buyback modeling
- Built for bookkeeping, not decisions
- All four lifecycles, live
- Cap vs. discount conversion, explained
- Example numbers, not yours
- Great for understanding, not for planning your round
- Same four scenarios, fully editable
- Plug in your real shares, terms, revenue
- Yours to keep and reuse every round
- Narrative on each tab: when to use it, real examples