Forecasting

Amy Divaraniya, CEO and co-founder of OOVA, created a product she knew the market needed. Yet, while she was pitching investors trying to close her seed round, she found that the financial projections needed a fresh pair of eyes.

Financial due diligence is the process of making sure the price of an asset is in line with its operating performance “under the hood.” Assessing the quality of earnings is one of its key tests: How sustainable is the business’ reported financial performance?

Many financial models fail because they rely on optimistic assumptions and ignore the risks presented by uncertain variables. This six-step guide illustrates how to avoid these pitfalls and develop practical, accurate financial models to inform your decision-making.

In the “new normal,” how should business leaders ensure that their business is well-equipped to survive and then thrive? Scenario analysis is a handy tool: How are scenarios built and translated into financial projections?

A financial forecast is a map that leads investors to the end goal. Most forecasts fail because they assume the ability to capture a market without detailing the assumptions to get them there. Startup financial models must be granular, with no missing steps from points A to Z.

What happens when interest rates drop below zero - are you really paid to borrow money? Japan, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland, and the Eurozone have all experienced negative rates and their experiences give pointers towards the effectiveness of such strategies.

Running out of cash is one of the main reasons why startups fail. More established companies can also be affected. We outline the importance of managing cash, key metrics, and actions to improve performance.

Burn rate is one of the simplest, yet most fundamental metrics that investors and startups focus on. It pertains to the total cash spend of the business per month, which demonstrates both growth progress and potential runway that the business has to survive. This article introduces the burn rate concept and the tactics that can be applied to optimize it.

Biotech companies with little to no revenue can still be worth billions. Consider the most prominent 2017 biotech M&A deal when Gilead bought Kite Pharma for almost $12 billion. At the time of the deal, Kite had over $600 million in accumulated deficit, but it also had a pipeline of CAR-T cell therapies, which treat cancer. This article examines how to value such pipelines. It also focuses on the risk-adjusted NPV valuation methodology, portfolios of multiple drug candidates, and how value is impacted by the characteristics of the investor or acquirer.