Financial models, or plans, are as important as business models. These two entities are the yin and the yang to solidifying a solid startup structure. In this article and the corresponding video, we discuss five of the best practices for building a robust financial model: Best Practice #1: Be...

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Investors are not running a charity. The reason why investors make investments is that they believe they will make a profit. For them, it is a business transaction, that is researched heavily and thoroughly thought through. This further means that investors want to know the business they are...

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In a market hungry for immediate results, there is always pressure to grow quickly. But is that always the right thing for the company’s overall strategy and long-term prospects? Here are four situations where rapid growth can backfire. 1. Unscalable business model If your business is not...

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As a startup founder, you have to become familiar with basic accounting concepts. In this article and the corresponding video, we discuss how to categorize various cash expenses from your Income, or Profit & Loss, Statement properly. Not All Costs Are Cash Costs Not all costs are cash...

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In this article and the corresponding video, we discuss the top five mistakes entrepreneurs make in their pitch decks. Mistake #1: Inaccurate calculations of market size Many founders incorrectly calculate the size of their company’s addressable market. When figuring out your market size, you...

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For pre-revenue companies, forecasting demand is very challenging because there is no financial history. To overcome that problem, some startup founders use random number generation as a tool to “logically generate” demand for their product or service. In their minds, this strategy is their best...

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All startup founders must create financial projections for their companies at some point, especially as they embark on the fundraising journey. That is true regardless of them having the finance knowledge to do it correctly or their company having the financial history to make their job...

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Having reviewed hundreds of financial models across more than fifteen industries, I’ve identified five most common mistakes entrepreneurs make when creating their financials. In this article and the corresponding video, we discuss each of these mistakes in more detail so that you can learn how to...

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The difference between WACC, or Weighted Average Cost of Capital, and the investors’ return confuses many entrepreneurs, especially those with very little finance knowledge. Both are important valuation concepts and will definitely come up in your fundraising process. In this article and the...

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If you are a founder in the process of creating financial projections for your pre-revenue company for the first time, most likely you have two thoughts. Thought # 1: “This is hard”, and Thought # 2: “This is futile because, without any data, I can only guess what my sales would be!” Well,...

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