Company I started a year ago is quadrupling its revenue almost every 2 months but there are so much limitations that we have because of capital. We need it asap.
-I need to know how to properly evaluate my company. I’m not trying to give up a lot of equity -Negotiate with investors -VC culture
- dos and don’ts.
Anything I can read, watch or any pointers on how to navigate a funding round?
Usually, there are two factors to figure out valuation.
Firstly, you look at comparable startups at similar stage raising a similar round. That will give you a sense of where the market is.
Second is demand. Usually investors have a minimum %age they are looking for in the company to make it worth their while. At your stage for a raise of 1.5M I would guess 8-15%. If you have multiple offers you can either negotiate the %age down or negotiate the mount raised up and keep the %age the same.
Also I would not worry about valuation so much. Figure how much you need to get to the next stage with some margin for risk - some extra as you might need to raise again 6-9 months before running out of cash.
Then let the investors make an offer they have a sense for the market - get multiple interested parties then have an honest discussion and negotiation on what works. If you only get one investor, they have the leverage. If you have multiple you can quickly get a sense of where the market is.
Good luck!