Other founders, “as a privately held company we don’t disclose our valuation.&#  Me, “dude, I’m not a journalist. I just want to figure out what a fair valuation is.&#  I figured all the VC’s talked so we should. This starts with understanding how VCs and entrepreneurs often see valuation differently. MORE >>

Later stage startups have revenue numbers, customer acquisition costs and marketing analyses that can all be plugged into magic financial formulae by VC whiz kids that pop out instant valuations.  Most of the time, establishing valuation ends up being a crap shoot. This is only a general guide on early stage valuation.  MORE >>

For this conversation, I’m going to focus on gains exclusively from a sale and forgo a discussion on ROI from cash flow.  So for an example lets assume a $500k investment in a company with a $600k pre money that professes to have an exit plan that will garner a $5m sale in 5 years.  Sale Price    $5,000,000. By Bob Aholt. MORE >>

Once you have a potential investor excited about your team, your product, and your company, the investor will inevitably ask “What is your company’s valuation?” How much is NewCo worth to investors at this point (pre-money valuation)? This is the most concrete valuation element, usually called the asset approach. Marty Zwilling. MORE >>

Tweet Valuation is one of those four-syllable business buzzwords you’re going to have to deal with, eventually, if you either want to start a business or own a business. Valuation means at least three different things: What a business is worth to accountants for legal purposes, such as divorce settlements, inheritance taxes, and gift taxes. MORE >>