How much is your startup worth? We heard the perspective of a VC.

You’re an entrepreneur who has finally crafted the perfect pitch, and you’re all set to meet investors to get funding for your startup. After your awe-inspiring speech about your amazing business idea, you get thrown the inevitable question:

“So how much is your startup worth?”

Sounds familiar? That’s a question that all venture capitalists and investors ask during a startup pitch. And it’s one that’s not easy to answer, especially for entrepreneurs who are setting valuations and raising funds for the very first time.

As a perk of being Tech in Asia subscribers, our Live and Core audiences learned how to answer that tricky question last Thursday at our “Startup valuation: A VC’s perspective” workshop, thanks to an experienced investing guru Kabir Narang. As the founding general partner and co-head of Asia Investments at B Capital Group, Narang is a global investor with over 15 years of private equity and technology investing experience.

The interactive workshop was part of our Like-A-Guru series, Tech in Asia’s latest lineup of training-based events aimed at enhancing one’s career and personal skills with the help of industry experts.

At the workshop, not only did attendees get to personally ask Narang their questions, they also received exclusive take-home worksheets designed to help them apply their newly acquired information to their own companies.

Here’s a sneak peek of what happened in the exclusive workshop:

Session overview

Narang started off the session by debunking the common myths regarding startup valuation. One fresh viewpoint he provided is that valuation doesn’t necessarily need to be complicated; simpler models, in fact, work better than complex ones. A startup’s story, its ability to scale, and the risks it faces are often more important considerations than its models and numbers.

From the investor’s perspective, Narang shared the reason why he does valuation: “It’s an opportunity for my rational side to understand the business and make sure I’ve thought through its different aspects to understand both the rewards and opportunities, as well as the risks involved”.

He then revealed three different valuation methodologies before going in depth on the more commonly used “Multiples” method. Through the take-home worksheets, participants would be able to apply the method to their own companies’ situations and prepare themselves for that all-important question from investors.

Beyond valuation, our participants also learned some other key transaction terms that could help them think of their businesses more holistically rather than just in terms of valuation numbers.

Narang also shared how the founder-investor relationship is a long journey, which makes it equally important for a founder to consider the value an investor would add to the business. It is crucial for entrepreneurs to choose the right investor, board member, and partner in order to optimize a business for success.

The last 30 minutes of the workshop were spent answering the attendees’ burning questions. Some of the most interesting ones were:

• How do you select your exit year?
• How do valuations differ between the South/Southeast Asia and North America tech scenes?
• If you find a potentially good investment target company but with a bad valuation, what framework do you follow to make the final decision as an investor?

We received our highest number of registrants yet for this workshop. The session was carefully crafted to ensure that our audience got the maximum value out of their TIA subscription. From quality content to valuable business lessons, a practical working template, and the chance to get acquainted with fellow founders from the region, our amazing subscribers deserve only the best!

Catch up on the full session

Feeling FOMO? Want to catch up on what you’ve missed out on? If you are not a Core or Live subscriber yet, simply subscribe to Tech in Asia Live at just US$4.92/month and watch the full session on startup valuation here.