In this series you will learn everything you need to know in order to model, value, and finance an early stage software and service startup.
No prior finance experience required.
This series offers over 9 hours of easy-to-understand MBA-level finance lectures, 500+ practice questions, and a complete downloadable functional financial model for a fictional startup with subscription and advertising revenue streams. All other PowerPoint and Excel materials are available for download as well.
If you buy this package, you get $100 off vs. buying each course individually.
All PowerPoint and Excel materials are available for download immediately after purchase. You also have lifetime access to the video content and practice questions.
What if you are confused?
Finance can be scary, but don’t worry - we are here to help you every step of the way. There are two levels of help we offer:
1. For the first 90 days after enrollment, you will have access to a private Facebook group where you can interact with other students and ask questions. Victoria oversees the group and will help you if other students don’t know the answers.
2. If you need support beyond the Facebook group, you can also ask Victoria questions by email.
The series teaches you:
1. The basics of accounting and financial analysis adapted to early stage software and service startups. Specifically, we will cover:
A. What information is provided by financial models and how creating a financial model for your startup can help you build a better business from the beginning.
B. The income statement structure and all relevant terminology. You will learn how to construct an income statement for an early stage software or service startup.
C. The balance sheet structure and all relevant terminology. You will learn how to construct a balance sheet for an early stage software or service startup.
D. The cash flow statement structure and all relevant terminology. You will learn how to construct a cash flow statement for an early stage software or service startup.
E. How to perform a break-even analysis.
F. Key financial metrics and what you can learn from them.
2. Modeling basics: How to formulate assumptions for seven business models that are common in early stage software and service startups. Specifically, we will cover:
A. How to formulate the pricing and marketing strategy for your company.
B. The business model analysis roadmap that will help you analyze the business model for your startup.
C. How to formulate assumptions for seven business models for early stage software and service startups: Subscription/ SAAS model, Advertising model, Software product model, Freemium model (in-app purchases for mobile apps), Marketplace/Platform model, Data model, and the Services model.
D. How to model the most common business scenarios across business models. All business scenarios can be downloaded in Excel.
3. Main valuation concepts and the eight quantitative and qualitative valuation models used to value early stage startups. Specifically, we will cover:
A. Free Cash Flow (FCF) and how it is calculated.
B. Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC), how it is different from ROI (Return on Investment), and how to calculate both.
C. What the company's Terminal Value is and the four methods for calculating it.
D. Five qualitative and three quantitative valuation models for valuing early stage companies: The Venture Capital Method, The Discounted Cash Flow Method, The Chicago Method, The Dave Berkus Scorecard, Bill Payne's Scorecard, The Risk Summation Factor Model, The Rule of Thirds, and The Replacement or All-in method.
E. How to create and maintain a capitalization table.
4. A comprehensive case study for an early stage software startup with the resulting financial model included. Specifically, you will learn:
A. How to formulate assumptions for pricing and marketing strategies for each revenue stream.
B. How to model pricing and marketing strategies for each revenue stream.
C. How to formulate cost assumptions and assumptions for working capital and fixed assets.
D. How to create proforma financial statements.
E. How to determine the company's funding needs and valuation.
F. How to create a financial summary and perform a break-even analysis.
The resulting model, available for download, contains the following:
A. Monthly revenue projections for each revenue stream.
B. Monthly variable and dynamically determined operating costs.
C. Yearly salaries and overhead costs.
D. Monthly working capital and fixed asset projections.
F. Annual income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement.
G. Valuation and funding needs.
H. Break-even analysis and financial summary.
I. Customer lifetime value calculation for each revenue stream.
5. Fundraising strategy and overview of financing vehicles: How to look for investors and how to choose the best financing vehicle for you. Specifically, you will learn:
A. Which legal documents are required for equity financing? For more info on this topic, you can reach out to our expert partner Ekaterina Mouratova at [email protected]
B. Fundraising strategy - How to look for investors.
C. Who needs to join an accelerator and how to choose one?
D. Three main financing vehicles - Equity, SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity) and Convertible debt.
We will cover how each vehicle works, how to choose one over another, and the pros and cons of each vehicle.
E. Anti-dilution, control, and information rights.
Victoria Yampolsky, CFA, is the President and Founder of the Startup Station, a comprehensive financial resource for early stage startups. She evaluates the financial feasibility of business models and specializes in the financial modeling and valuation of pre-revenue companies. Since founding the Startup Station in 2013, she has advised companies across more than ten industries, ranging from technology, manufacturing, and consumer products to media, entertainment, and fashion.
She has also created a finance curriculum for early stage founders and launched the educational arm of the Startup Station in 2015. Since then, more than 1,000 founders have attended her online and in-person finance classes and learned the basics of financial modeling, valuation, and startup financing.
Victoria is an advisor to DreaMe, Opkix, and Stringflix, as well as a founder of several ventures in media and entertainment. Previously, Victoria worked for the Deutsche Bank Research Department and performed IT consulting for CapGemini's Financial Services Division. Victoria holds a Bachelor's Degree, Cum Laude, in Computer Science, with a minor in Mathematics, from Cornell University and an MBA, with honors, from Columbia Business School. Victoria is also on the Advisory Board of the Computing and Information Science (CIS) Department of Cornell University.