Investors and Funding

Valuation for mature late-stage startups can be tricky: Too developed for guestimate methods, yet still without the depth of data offered by public market companies.

Valuation of private fintech startups is a step-by-step process that requires a holistic assessment of macro industrial factors and micro assumptions about the startup’s future prospects. Learn how to value fintech companies in a practical step-by-step manner with this working example for payments unicorn Transferwise.

Compared to traditional financial services businesses, fintech startups require different valuation approaches. This article explores these differences and the best practices to apply when appraising a fintech investment.

Anyone vaguely familiar with the venture capital industry knows that down rounds are bad news. But what exactly are they, and why do they occur? What alternatives do founders have to avoid a down round?

Toptal Finance Expert Bechara Kara runs through the crowdfunding market’s recent milestones, highlighting some of the shortcomings that can potentially threaten crowdfunding as a tool for democratizing finance, concluding with suggestions for a balanced approach in promoting its evolution.

With both expected to go public in 2019, we look at Lyft vs Uber and how they would be valued on the public markets. This analysis also comprises an overview of their respective business models, finances, and expansion strategies.

Revenue-based financing allows an entrepreneur to repay an investment over time, to retake ownership of their business, and give a capped return to investors. With founders increasingly rejecting the scale-at-all-costs mentality, this article investigates the math of revenue-based investing and whether in VC it is possible to play averages over home runs.