Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2022

At our mid-year offsite our partnership at Upfront Ventures was discussing what the future of venture capital and the startup ecosystem looked like. We drew this conclusion after a meeting we had with Morgan Stanley where they showed us historical 15 & 20 year valuation trends and we all discussed what we thought this meant.

Technical Review 416

Technical Review Pre-Money Valuation San Francisco Valuation 416

Gust

OCTOBER 18, 2011

Detailed descriptions will be published over the next few weeks: The Scorecard Method: This method compares the target company to typical angel-funded startup ventures and adjusts the average valuation of recently funded companies in the region to establish a pre-money valuation of the target.

Valuation 174

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Southern California Post-Money Valuation 174

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2011

But to help with the explanation I’d like to put down some markers of typical Internet pre-money valuations done in major US markets (San Fran, NY, LA, etc.) while acknowledging that San Fran deals are often higher valuations due to increased competition amongst investors. And of course there are always outliers.

Pre-Money Valuation 336

Pre-Money Valuation Valuation Silicon Valley Stock 336

David Teten

FEBRUARY 9, 2015

I’ve listed below the points I recommend you cover when pitching your business to early-stage investors, including but definitely not limited to ff Venture Capital. If you are testing the market to see what terms you can get, just say, “We are targeting to raise $X at pre-money valuation of $Y.”

Venture Capital 60

Venture Capital Pre-Money Valuation Prospectus Early Stage 60

Tim Keane

JANUARY 12, 2010

  I’ve sat down with entrepreneurs and a copy of a term sheet guide I like [ “Term Sheets & Valuations - A Line by Line Look at the Intricacies of Venture Capital Term Sheets & Valuations ” by Alex Wilmerding, Aspatore Press.] An average of these ranges results in a pre-money valuation of about $4MM.

Term Sheet 68

Term Sheet Valuation Dividend Liquidation Preference 68

Gust

NOVEMBER 4, 2011

In brief, a cap acts to place a limit on the conversion price of a convertible note such that investors are guaranteed a minimum number of shares for their bridge loans if the startup does a priced equity round at a high pre-money valuation – “high” meaning above the cap, which is often a heavily negotiated term. (The

Valuation 98

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Merger Vesting 98

This is going to be BIG.

SEPTEMBER 7, 2012

There are a lot of people that artificially group together performance metrics for venture, and try to extrapolate successful stratagies from it. Reality is that venture is a bunch of individual stories, individual assessments of teams, unique products, and a whole lot of stars lining up for particular companies for success to happen.

Later Stage 99

Later Stage Down Round Pre-Money Valuation Early Stage 99