YC Inflation & Unicorn Calculator

Calculate startup inflation based on YC deals and see what being a unicorn really means across different years

Calculate Your Deal

Your Results

Inflation Rate
8233.3%
That's not inflation, that's a different dimension 🚀
Unicorn Threshold
$4,166,666,667
Need $4,166,166,667 more to be a unicorn
In 2005 Terms
$6,000
Same purchasing power as 2005
2022 Deal Details
Amount: $500,000
Equity: 7%

Deal Size Timeline

05
2005
7% equity
$6,000
The beginning
10
2010
6% equity
$20,000
Sequoia backing
13
2013
7% equity
$120,000
SAFE introduced
18
2018
7% equity
$150,000
Post-money SAFE
22
2022
7% equity
$500,000
Current deal

Fun Facts About YC Deal Inflation

The Numbers Don't Lie

  • • 2005: $6k for 7% equity (that's $85k valuation)
  • • 2022: $500k for 7% equity (that's $7.1M valuation)
  • • That's an 8,233% increase in deal size! 🚀

What This Means

  • • Your $500k today = $6k in 2005 terms
  • • Same 7% equity, 83x more money
  • • PG probably didn't see this coming 😅

🦄 Unicorn Inflation Facts

The Unicorn Evolution

  • • 2013: $1B = unicorn (Aileen Lee's definition)
  • • 2005: $1.4M = unicorn equivalent
  • • 2022: $83.3M = unicorn equivalent
  • • Unicorns got 60x more expensive! 🦄

The Reality Check

  • • A $1B company in 2013 = $83M in 2005 terms
  • • Today's unicorns would be "just" $12M in 2005
  • • The bar keeps moving higher 📈
  • • Maybe we need a new mythical creature? 🐉

Built with ❤️ and way too much time thinking about startup economics

Data sourced from YC's public deal history