Where the fuel comes from.
A build starts when the product works. No fund is needed. We are based in the Philippines, so this is the path here. Landing is the day a build’s company forms. After it, the company can raise money in stages, and each stage takes a slice of the company. Dilution is the drop in your percentage of the company when a round issues new shares to investors. Below is the usual path, and what it does to a seat.
Our rule: a company raises money after it shows the product works.
7 stops
Some companies skip stages, so treat this as the common path. We have no deal with any fund or programme named here; they are who usually funds that stage.
Stop 0
Hangar
Bootstrap
The crew, with its own money and time.
- Equity given
- 0%
- Leaves with
- A product that runs. Every build on the site has one. It is the crew’s half.
You join here
Orbit (the first 30 days), then Landing, when the company forms. The funding path starts after that.
Stop 1
Local fuel
Grants
DOST startup grants under RA 11337 (the Innovative Startup Act), other government programmes, competitions.
Applications are slow, so a landed company starts early.
- Money
- Varies
- Equity given
- 0%
- Unlocked by
- First paying customers.
Stop 2
Launch pad
Accelerator
QBO Innovation Hub, IdeaSpace, and global programmes such as Y Combinator and 500 Global.
- Money
- A small cheque
- Equity given
- About 5–10%. Some local programmes take none.
- Unlocked by
- First 100 users.
Stop 3
Liftoff
Pre-seed, on a SAFE
Angels and small early-stage funds.
- Money
- $100k–$500k
- Equity given
- About 7–15%. Say, $200k on a $2M cap is 10%.
- Unlocked by
- Steady weekly use.
Stop 4
Escape velocity
Seed, a priced round
Early-stage VCs in the Philippines such as Kickstart Ventures, Foxmont Capital Partners, Gobi-Core and Kaya Founders.
- Money
- $1M–$3M
- Equity given
- About 15–25%, plus an option pool for new hires.
- Unlocked by
- Repeatable growth.
Stop 5
Deep space
Series A
Larger regional or international funds.
- Money
- $5M–$15M
- Equity given
- About 15–25%.
- Unlocked by
- Clear revenue.
Stop 6
New world
Growth or exit
Series B and C, an acquisition, or a listing on the Philippine Stock Exchange or abroad.
- Equity given
- Varies
- Unlocked by
- Scale. This is where shares can turn into money.
Ranges are the usual ones in the Philippines and the region, not offers and not promises.
Your slice through the rounds
Start: a standard build with 2 resident seats. At Landing the crew holds 45%, each seat 22.5% and the pool 10%. Each round gives the new investors a share, so every holder shrinks by that share. At seed the pool is also topped up, which takes a little more.
Landing
- Round takes
- Nothing yet
- One resident seat
- 22.5%
- One seat on paper
- —
- The crew
- 45%
- Pool
- 10%
Launch pad (accelerator)
- Round takes
- 7%
- One resident seat
- ≈20.93%
- One seat on paper
- —
- The crew
- 41.85%
- Pool
- 9.3%
Liftoff (pre-seed)
- Round takes
- 10%
- One resident seat
- ≈18.83%
- One seat on paper
- $377kat the $2M cap
- The crew
- ≈37.67%
- Pool
- 8.37%
Escape velocity (seed)
- Round takes
- 20% + pool back to 10%
- One resident seat
- ≈14.39%
- One seat on paper
- $1.2Mat a value of $8M
- The crew
- ≈28.77%
- Pool
- 10%
Deep space (Series A)
- Round takes
- 20%
- One resident seat
- ≈11.51%
- One seat on paper
- $3.5Mat a value of $30M
- The crew
- ≈23.02%
- Pool
- 8%
This is general information, not legal or financial advice.
- At seed the new investors take 20%, and the pool is then topped back up to 10%. Every other holder pays for the top-up, you and the crew included. That is why the seed cut is larger than 20%.
- A SAFE is an agreement that turns an investor’s money into shares at the next priced round. It does not dilute anyone until it converts at the next priced round. The pre-seed row shows it as if it converted at its cap.
- Values are on paper, at the company’s value right after each round. They are not cash. How the split is set
A smaller slice can be worth more
Your seat ends at about 11.5%, and at a value of $30M that is about $3.5M on paper. You own less of the company, but the company is worth more: a sari-sari store that became a supermarket chain. Most companies never get this far. This is the maths if yours keeps flying. It is not a forecast.
Vesting still applies
2 years, with a 3-month cliff. Only vested shares are yours to sell.