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The post-money valuation is the pre-money valuation plus the capital newly paid in. Enter any two values and the tool works out the other two.
Post-money = pre-money + investmentPre-money = post-money − investmentInvestor stake = investment ÷ post-moneyAmounts in euros, stake in percent.
Existing shareholdersNew investors
| Existing shareholders | 80.0 % |
| New investors | 20.0 % |
| Pre-money valuation | – |
| Post-money valuation | – |
The calculator works without an option pool, without convertible loans and without a liquidation preference. Those three often move the outcome more than the valuation itself.
Pre-money valuation is what your company is worth before the funding round.
Post-money valuation is the value immediately after the round, so pre-money plus the amount newly paid in.
Dilution is the share existing shareholders give up through the round. Their number of shares stays the same, their percentage falls.
Fully diluted means the calculation includes every share that can come into existence, so options and convertibles as well.
You raise 2,000,000 euros. The pre-money valuation is 8,000,000 euros.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Pre-money valuation | 8,000,000 euros |
| Investment amount | 2,000,000 euros |
| Post-money valuation | 10,000,000 euros |
| Stake of the new investors | 20 percent |
| Stake of the existing shareholders | 80 percent |
Anyone who held 40 percent before holds 32 percent after. The stake falls by a fifth. The value of that stake still rises if the valuation holds.
The reverse check: 500,000 euros for 10 percent gives a post-money valuation of 5,000,000 euros and a pre-money valuation of 4,500,000 euros.
If an investor says a valuation of 10 million and means post-money, then with 2 million invested your pre-money valuation is 8 million. If they mean pre-money, the post-money valuation is 12 million and their stake is 16.7 instead of 20 percent.
The gap is 3.3 percentage points of the company. On a later sale at 50 million euros that is around 1.65 million euros. This is why every term sheet needs the word pre-money or post-money, not just a number.
Investors usually ask for an employee pool of 10 to 15 percent of the capital after the round. What matters is whether that pool is carved out of the pre-money or created after the round.
Example with 8 million euros pre-money, 2 million euros investment and a pool of 10 percent:
| Stake after the round | Pool in the pre-money | Pool after the round |
|---|---|---|
| Existing shareholders | 70 percent | 72 percent |
| New investors | 20 percent | 18 percent |
| Employee pool | 10 percent | 10 percent |
Those two percentage points go straight to the new investors. In effect the pre-money valuation drops from 8 to 7 million euros without the number in the term sheet changing. Where the pool sits is part of the price negotiation, not a formality.
In a German GmbH the investment does not go into the share capital in full. The new shares carry a nominal amount in whole euros, and by far the larger part is booked as a share premium in the capital reserve under section 272 paragraph 2 number 1 of the German Commercial Code.
With 2 million euros invested and 25,000 euros of share capital, the new shares typically carry a nominal amount of 6,250 euros so that the investors hold 20 percent. The remaining 1.994 million euros is premium.
The resolution and the subscription declaration must be notarised, and the increase only takes effect on registration in the commercial register. Allow time for that step, it sits between signing and the money arriving.
If investors buy existing shares from current shareholders, no money flows into the company. There is then no post-money valuation in the strict sense and no dilution for the other shareholders, only a change of owner. The calculator above covers the primary case.
Anyone negotiating a round from 1 million euros works these three through in a full cap table, not in a calculator with four fields.
Pre-money is the company value before the funding round, post-money the value immediately after. The difference is exactly the amount newly paid in.
Divide the investment amount by the post-money valuation. With 2 million euros invested and 10 million euros post-money that is 20 percent.
Subtract the investment from the post-money valuation. If you only know the investment and the percentage, divide the investment by the stake and subtract the investment again.
By exactly the share the new investors receive. Anyone holding 40 percent holds 32 percent after a 20 percent round.
Because the 10 percent refers to the post-money valuation. 500,000 divided by 0.1 gives 5 million post-money, less the 500,000 leaves 4.5 million pre-money.
No. A high valuation without the numbers to back it leads to a markdown in the next round. A down round costs more shares and more trust than an honest valuation today.
That is negotiable. Carved out of the pre-money, the existing shareholders carry it alone. Created after the round, everyone carries it. With a pool of 10 percent that is two percentage points.
It converts into shares in the round, usually with a discount on the round price or with a valuation cap. Put it into the cap table before you negotiate.
Arithmetically yes, if the investor stake exceeds 100 percent, in practice no. A negative result means the values you entered do not fit together.
That depends on revenue, growth, margin and comparable transactions. A number without that basis does not survive due diligence.
Last updated September 2026. The calculator gives non-binding results and does not replace legal, tax or investment advice.
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