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. When you look at how much median valuations were driven up in the past 5 years alone it’s bananas. And it WILL be deployed, that’s what investors do.

Technical Review 416

Technical Review Pre-Money Valuation San Francisco Valuation 416

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 22, 2010

Back in 1999 when I first raised venture capital I had zero knowledge of what a fair term sheet looked like or how to value my company. 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. I turned them down. They were nonplussed.

Valuation 405

Valuation Liquidation Preference Pre-Money Valuation Term Sheet 405

View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 14, 2021

That’s a bit of a cautionary tale to VC investors today who might think it’s inevitable that the private value they are enjoying in their portfolios will certainly translate to distributions in the near future. Was this a lost decade for venture capital? Both early- and late-stage startup valuations are currently elevated.

Valuation 319

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Distribution Early Stage 319

View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 14, 2021

That’s a bit of a cautionary tale to VC investors today who might think it’s inevitable that the private value they are enjoying in their portfolios will certainly translate to distributions in the near future. Was this a lost decade for venture capital? Both early- and late-stage startup valuations are currently elevated.

Valuation 295

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Distribution Early Stage 295

This is going to be BIG.

JULY 30, 2015

You incorporate expected company returns, mortality rates, and fee structures to try to predict how a venture capital fund works from a cash in, cash out, and NAV standpoint. And no, the numbers don't exactly add up--but they're more than close enough for venture capital. It's also not the "average fund". How about price?

Venture Capital 60

Venture Capital Pre-Money Valuation IRR Valuation 60

View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 14, 2021

That’s a bit of a cautionary tale to VC investors today who might think it’s inevitable that the private value they are enjoying in their portfolios will certainly translate to distributions in the near future. Was this a lost decade for venture capital? Both early- and late-stage startup valuations are currently elevated.

Valuation 156

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Distribution Early Stage 156

Tim Keane

JANUARY 12, 2010

Startups and angels: Along the way to success. Term-sheets and Valuations: Thinking about Negotiations. An average of these ranges results in a pre-money valuation of about $4MM.   If similarly situated companies are seeing $3.5MM pre-money valuations, this might become the target valuation.

Term Sheet 68

Term Sheet Valuation Dividend Liquidation Preference 68