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Supercharge Your Startup Valuation
by Dr. Siva Vivekarajah
Category: Business . Entrepreneurship
Course length: 15 video lessons, 2h 00m
Audio: English Subtitle: English
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About Your Instructor
Known for pioneering Malaysia’s startup scene, Dr. Sivapalan Vivekarajah is no stranger in the startup ecosystem, having nearly 40 years of extensive experience as an entrepreneur and angel investor. Dr. Siva has a Ph.D in Venture Capital from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and is also an Adjunct Professor at the School of Science and Technology at Sunway University. He is also the co-founder and senior partner of ScaleUp Malaysia; the first and most successful late stage accelerator in Malaysia for highly scalable, fast growing regional companies. Companies he has worked with or invested in have raised almost USD200 million in funding from angel and venture capital investors.
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Lesson Plan
Lesson 1: Meet Your Instructor
Dr. Siva introduces himself, offers a glimpse into his entrepreneurship journey to being part of a VC fund, and provides an overview of what he will cover in the course.
Lesson 2: Startup Valuation: Art or Science?
Dr. Siva has a unique perspective as both an entrepreneur and an investor. He introduces several valuation methods and talks about the preliminary matters to consider before you proceed to do a proper valuation.
Lesson 3: Factors That Determine Valuation
“How much is my business worth?” is a question entrepreneurs often find challenging to answer right from the start. Instead, Dr. Siva believes entrepreneurs should first focus on understanding what increases or decreases valuation.
Lesson 4: Key Terms and Important Documents
From investment specifics, governance to financial terms, Dr. Siva describes what they are, how they are being applied and provides insights on what needs to be in order to maximize your business valuation.
Lesson 5: Dilution: How it Works, Causes & Effects
Learning how to navigate share dilution is equally as important in ensuring your business continues to grow. In this lesson, Dr. Siva shares examples on share dilution implications that are critical to consider and explains the importance of Internal Rate of Return.
Lesson 6: The Berkus Method
Dr. Siva list out valuation methods for businesses that are at the earliest stage where there is little to no revenue. Here, he introduces the Berkus Method and defines the five key areas that attribute to the valuation of the company.
Lesson 7: The Scorecard Method
Slightly more complex but similar to the Berkus Method, Dr. Siva teaches how to use the Scorecard Method to determine the valuation of early-stage startups.
Lesson 8: The Comparables Method
The Comparables Method takes one step further in early-stage valuation. In this lesson, Dr. Siva shows how to use this method wisely in order to enhance valuation.
Lesson 9: Using Financial Methodology
For later-stage companies with revenue, Dr. Siva explains how to best use financial data of the company to do a valuation. He draws on his experience working with his investees and talks about the pros and cons of each element using this model.
Lesson 10: Price Earnings Ratio
As companies mature and start to show profits, Dr. Siva instructs you on how to use a simple method to calculate the valuation of your business.
Lesson 11: Discounted Cash Flow Method
Dr. Siva explains the key elements used in this model and shares insights into what mature companies must take into consideration when using the Discounted Cash Flow Method.
Lesson 12: Mitigating Investment Risks
Dr. Siva describes a valuation approach used by sophisticated investors so that they can arrive at a valuation that balances out their risks. By understanding this method, founders learn how to increase their valuation and likelihood of fundraising success.
Lesson 13: Leveraging on Your Most Valuable Asset
In this lesson, Dr. Siva uses examples to illustrate and introduces a unique metric that all businesses have in order for you to do a valuation.
Lesson 14: The Venture Mindset
Having a full understanding of how VCs do valuation will give you an edge in securing a deal. Find out what VCs are looking for, how to best sell your vision and key considerations when they justify the value of your company.
Lesson 15: Closing The Valuation Gap
There are a number of ways to determine the true value of a company. Dr. Siva sums up his preferred method according to the stage of the business you are in and shares his philosophy from advising thousands of entrepreneurs and investors about valuation.