Great news — your startup just got accepted to an incubator! But before your startup signs up and cashes that $[XX,000] check, your startup’s co-founders should sit down and evaluate the incubator’s offer. Pre-money valuations startups receive from incubators are typically low…really low. MORE >>

They might have some seed money and are thinking or raising a Series A based on success of an early release (MVP). Because of this, I've always tried to stay up-to-speed on how early-stage investors look at valuation of companies. Bill Payne is an expert on how early-stage investors should look at valuation. is a requirement. MORE >>

” Everybody knows that when you raise money at a startup your ownership percentage of the company goes down. The goal is to have the value of the startup go up by enough that you own a smaller percentage of a much larger business and therefore your total personal value goes up. Startup AdviceDilution. million. MORE >>

Due to competitive markets we ended up with a pretty good term sheet until we needed to raise money in April 2001 and then we got completely screwed. It was accept the terms or go into bankruptcy so we took the money. I just want to figure out what a fair valuation is.&#  I figured all the VC’s talked so we should. Normal. MORE >>

Valuation is an important aspect of VC deal terms, and a major determinant of your ultimate outcome.  I unexpectedly found that it was more helpful to think about the company valuation as an output variable in the fund-raising equation.  The net effect was more money raised, higher valuation and the same percentage of equity sold.  MORE >>