Founder vesting calculator

The industry standard: 4-year vest, 1-year cliff. Nothing vests for the first 12 months; at the cliff, 25% vests in a single day; thereafter shares vest monthly until year 4.

Total shares / equity

Vest start date

Vest period (years)

Cliff (months)

Check vested on (default today)

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Vested on chosen date

0 (0%)

Cliff date

—

Fully vested

—

Months elapsed

Unvested

Milestone	Vested

Why vesting matters

If a co-founder leaves at month 13, they walk away with just 25% of their shares — the remaining 75% returns to the company. Without vesting, that co-founder would own their full slice forever even after quitting, killing the cap table for everyone else.

Single-trigger acceleration: partial vesting on a change of control. Double-trigger: acceleration only if (a) change of control AND (b) involuntary termination within ~12 months.