What happens to your ownership percentage when the company issues new shares: your slice of the pie shrinks, even as the pie itself gets bigger.
Day 1: founder owns 100%. After seed (20% to investors + 15% option pool): ~65%. After Series A (20% + pool top-up): ~50%. After B: ~38%. After C: ~28%. By IPO, most founders own 5-15% of their own company. This isn't catastrophic — it's the cost of capital.
