App Launch: Valuation Calculator
+ Counterintuitive fundraising strategies
Welcome to the 13th weekly post from Texts with Founders — tested tactics for early-stage startups.
Exploring starting a company? Take a look at the upcoming cohort of ODF. I’m also hosting an event in SF for explorers this Wednesday (9/20) — apply to attend.
Today’s post is a departure from the norm. Each week I typically share a tested tactic (browse the archive) for very early stage startups. Instead, this week I’m sharing an app that bundles a bunch of tactics together.
Introducing the Texts with Founders Valuation Calculator
I've helped hundreds of founders fundraise and I've invested in over 150 startups.
Founders often come to me to figure out how much to raise and at what valuation.
Instead of a blog post, I built an interactive application that blends a calculator with the advice I give founders.
If you only take one thing away from using this app let it be this:
Valuations aren't picked out of thin air — they are largely based on the relationship between...
the amount of money you need to reach your next milestone
the amount of dilution you are willing to take to reach that milestone
whether or not those two amounts match up with the market's appetite for your company
The app is made up of four parts — each includes a 🎥 video and additional 📝 written advice:
Determining raise amount
Determining round dilution
Calculating valuation range
Evaluating various valuation scenarios
You can also choose to get a copy of your results emailed to you along with additional resources.
Enjoy!
👉 calculator.textswithfounders.com 🔗
Note: this is very much a work-in-progress. I coded this up a couple months ago and only now am getting around to deploying it. Expect bugs.
Any feedback is greatly appreciated email me at julian at weisser.io or DM me—I’ll continually improve things from here.
Happy Hour for Explorers 9/20
I’m hosting a happy hour for people exploring starting companies this Wednesday (9/20) in SF. Great guest list so far—engineering leaders from unicorns, sharp data and ML folks, and others with serious operations chops. Hope to see you there!
Founder Updates
Congratulations to Adeel at MagicSchool for the incredible deep-dive in Wired — Teachers Are Going All In on AI
If you find TWF useful please share with founder friends: textswithfounders.com
Want to get in touch? Reply to this email.
- Julian
Recent Posts:
Tranche Fundraising - Give early investors a "buy-it-now" price
MFNs - Are they a lousy deal or free money?
Weekly Investor Updates - Keep investors close and yourself on track
Check Size Doesn’t Matter - Forget minimum amounts and optimize for quality people
Raise the round behind you - Avoid a drawn-out process and optimize for the best investors.
Conditional Commitments - Why they aren't commitments and what to do about them.
Handling Inbound From Investors - Avoid distractions and keep potential investors warm.
How “Good Guy” Phrases Torpedo a Pitch - And how to win over customers and investors
Avoid Hiring Too Early - Navigate external pressure focused on vanity metrics
Customers understand before investors do - And some investors will never understand
The Benefits and Downsides of Responsiveness - Where it can help and where it can backfire.
Avoiding Gossip - Nimbly navigate an awkward scenario.
No identifying information is shared in texts.