An accelerator is a school that helps entrepreneurs get their venture to the next stage. Most importantly, accelerators prepare founders for the Demo day where they can raise their next round of financing. These schools are most useful for founders with little startup experience or for foreign...

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Do you have an amazing startup idea, but not sure how to fund it? Have you heard about equity and convertible debt, but completely confused how they work and which one is a better fit? To help you navigate the treacherous waters of fundraising, we introduce you to three main financing...

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One of the most confusing concepts to understand for entrepreneurs with no finance background is the difference between cash and income. In this article we discuss the three reasons that drive the discrepancy. Reason #1: Non-Cash Expenses on the Income Statement The income statement is a...

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There is a lot of confusion around what startup valuations are really based on. To start off, let’s understand what they ARE NOT based on: Numbers taken from the sky, or unjustified projections Wishful thinking Desired percent of equity that you “think” you should give away To drive the...

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Investors don’t invest in products. They invest in businesses and, specifically, those businesses that have the potential of making them the most money. Some investors may have additional objectives such as to support women-founders or to invest in green technologies, but they are still primarily...

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You have an idea. You are excited. You can’t wait to start. But before you pour all your energy, time, and money into it, you first must evaluate its viability. More specifically, are you really solving a problem that needs be solved, and is your solution actually better than others that already...

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Many startup founders don’t fully understand why it is important to have a company valuation, especially at an early stage. We demonstrate how a company valuation affects the amount of control you, as a founder, are going to have and how much money you end up making in case of an exit with a help...

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“Why create financial projections when it is all a guess?” That is a question I hear all too often. Many entrepreneurs and small business owners have trouble making estimates and reducing the uncertainty in which they operate to a limited set of variables within a structured model. Their mistake...

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There are two valuation methodologies for early-stage startups - qualitative and quantitative. Method #1: Qualitative Approach All qualitative approaches are based on some sort of scorecard. Each scorecard has its own unique set of attributes. Every attribute has a monetary range assigned to it...

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Not every investor is the same and choosing the right investor is critical to your company’s success. All investors can be categorized by three criteria: An investment amount The level of involvement The investor’s role in a company An investment amount All investments fall into one of...

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