Flagship 5-Course Series - Software and Service

Completing our Flagship 5-Course Series "How to build proforma financial statements, model, value, and finance early-stage software and service startups," enables you to:

• Formulate credible assumptions for your business model,
• Build proforma financial projections for your business,
• Value your startup,
• Select your financing vehicle and negotiate your term sheet, and
• Understand the basics of financial accounting and analysis.

NO PRIOR FINANCE EXPERIENCE IS REQUIRED.

This series consists of five courses:

• Course 1: Accounting and Financial Analysis;
• Course 2: Financial Modeling of Software and Service Startups: 8 Business Models;
• Course 3: Valuation Concepts and Valuation Models;
• Course 4: A Case Study: Modeling and Valuing an Early-Stage Software Startup; and
• Course 5: Fundraising Strategy and Financing Vehicles.

If you buy this package, you get $100 off vs. buying each course individually.

This series offers:

• LIFETIME ACCESS to 9+ hours of easy-to-understand MBA-level finance lectures;
• LIFETIME ACCESS to 550+ practice questions;
• AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD IMMEDIATELY: All PowerPoint and Excel materials;
• AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD IMMEDIATELY: A comprehensive, complete, and functional financial model template for a fictional software startup with subscription and advertising revenue streams.

What if you are confused?

Support:

Finance can be scary, but don’t worry - we are here to help you every step of the way. There are three levels of help we offer:

1. 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 and office hours, you can also ask Victoria questions by email.

Curriculum:

1. Financial Statements and Analysis For Early-Stage Software and Service Startups.

• The purpose of a financial model for a startup;
• Overview of four financial statements;
• The structure of an Income Statement: Revenues and Costs - Variable, Fixed, Non-Cash, and Financing;
• Break-even analysis;
• The structure of a Balance Sheet: Assets and Liabilities;
• Properly, Plant & Equipment;
• Working Capital: Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable;
• The structure of a Cash Flow Statement: Cash Flow from Operations, Cash Flow from Investing, and Cash Flow from Financing; and
• Key performance indicators: margins, return metrics, operating leverage, and cash conversion cycle.

2. Financial Modeling For Early-Stage Software and Service Startups.

• Challenges in modeling early-stage software and service startups and how to overcome them;
• How to model price and quantity;
• The Business Model Analysis Roadmap, a guide for analyzing business models;
• The framework for creating credible financial model assumptions.
• Introduction to eight business models for service and software startups;
• Assumptions and business scenarios for EIGHT BUSINESS MODELS with Excel examples:
  • Subscription/SaaS model;
  • Advertising model (Affiliate/Direct, PPC/PPV, and Per Advertiser);
  • Software Product model;
  • Data model (per User, per Report, per API);
  • Marketplace model;
  • Pay-per-Use model;
  • Services model;
  • Freemium model (the case of in-app purchases); and
• Modeling Variable and Fixed Costs.

3. Valuation Concepts and Valuation Models For Early-Stage Startups.

Valuation Concepts:

• Free Cash Flow;
• WACC;
• Investors’ Return (IRR); and
• Four methods for calculating Terminal Value.

Valuation Models:

• Two valuation approaches for valuing early-stage ventures;
• Three quantitative valuation models:
  • Venture capital method,
  • Discounted cash flow, and
  • The Chicago method;
• Five qualitative valuation models:
  • The Dave Berkus scorecard,
  • Bill Payne’s scorecard methodology,
  • The Risk Factor Summation Model,
  • The Replacement /All-in Method,
  • The Rule of Three; and
• How to create and maintain a cap table.

4. A Case Study for An Early-Stage Software Startup "Coolest Thing Ever"

• Formulating assumptions for pricing and marketing strategies for each revenue stream;
• Modeling techniques for pricing and marketing strategies for each revenue stream;
• Formulating cost assumptions and assumptions for working capital and fixed assets;
• Constructing proforma financial statements;
• Determining the company's funding needs and valuation; and
• Creating a financial summary and performing a break-even analysis.

The resulting model, available for download, contains the following:

• Monthly revenue projections for each revenue stream.
  • The subscription stream has two levels of subscriptions: one-month and six-months.
  • There are four marketing strategies for the subscription stream.
  • The advertising stream is launched based on a financial threshold.
  • The advertising stream uses a sales force to generate sales.
• Monthly variable and dynamically determined operating costs.
• Yearly salaries and overhead costs.
• Monthly working capital and fixed asset projections.
• Annual income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement.
• Valuation and funding needs.
• Break-even analysis and financial summary.
• Customer lifetime value calculation for each revenue stream.

5. Fundraising Strategy and Financing Vehicles for Early-Stage Startups

• How to look for investors;
• Which legal documents are required for an equity raise;
• How to evaluate accelerators;
• The structure of an Equity investment:
  • Anti-dilution clauses,
  • Preferred stock,
  • Warrants, and
  • Other clauses;
• The structure of a SAFE investment:
  • How does it work?
  • Conversion triggers: acquisition and the next round of financing; and
  • Methods to determine an equity stake upon conversion: valuation cap and discount rate.
• The structure of a Convertible Debt investment:
  • Similarities to and differences from a SAFE investment;
• Control and information rights; and
• Pros and cons of equity, SAFE and convertible debt.