Toptal Management Consulting Expert
The State of the Music Industry in 2020
The music recording industry presents a great example of how businesses must continually transform and adapt to change. After piracy and unbundling drove 15 years of revenue decline, the global industry has returned to growth, primarily due to streaming.

Jimmy Stone
Jimmy has executed and evaluated $1+ billion in debt, equity, and M&A transactions across a range of industries.
Starting an App Business the Right Way
Building an app-based business can be a daunting project: Within such a competitive space, how can you make your app stand out, attract and retain the right audience, and then monetize it?

Natasha Ketabchi
Natasha transitioned to venture capital after a career in banking built in prestigious firms such as JPMorgan and ESM.
The Price Is Right: A Pricing Strategy Overview for Consumer Companies
Pricing your products appropriately is one of the keys to the success of your company. So why do entrepreneurs often treat it as an afterthought? What are some of the available pricing strategies and how should they be applied by startup entrepreneurs?

Natasha Ketabchi
Natasha transitioned to venture capital after a career in banking built in prestigious firms such as JPMorgan and ESM.
EdTech Industry Analysis & Trends (2020)
Education has rapidly evolved away from the red-brick schoolhouse model. About $7.0 billion was invested globally by VC funds into the edtech market in 2019. This is expected to grow 3x over the next decade. Where is the money going? What characteristics do new competitors need to be sustainable?

Steven Southwick
Steve Southwick is the CEO and founder of Pointful Education. He also advises startups and growth-stage companies on capital raising, mergers, and acquisitions.
Imperfect Harmony: An Overview of SoundCloud vs. Spotify
Not many industries have undergone the same level of transformation as the music industry - technology has changed every facet of the industry. File streaming has been nothing short of a revolution. What can be learned from Spotify vs. SoundCloud?

Natasha Ketabchi
Natasha transitioned to venture capital after a career in banking built in prestigious firms such as JPMorgan and ESM.
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Doing Business in the European Union
The EU economy is worth $15.5 trillion, 24 million companies operate within it, and there are 300 million online shoppers. Is this a market you should be in? If so, how do you serve the EU market while balancing customer service, cost, and complexity?

Paul Ainsworth
Paul is an international CFO with experience across multinational companies ranging from $250-900 million in revenue.
Serving Food From the Cloud
The restaurant industry is infamous for its failure rate. The most common reason for failure is location. Cloud kitchens do away with this obstacle, allowing restaurants to operate without having a central hip location.

Naveen Sharda
Naveen leverages his extensive fundraising and transaction experience to help entrepreneurs and managers drive value for their businesses.
Looks That Thrill: Inside the Booming Beauty Industry
How has the beauty industry become extremely innovative? How did Glossier and The Ordinary approach (and crack) the problem of enticing consumers, building brand loyalty and creating unique experiences? The lessons are relevant for all DTC companies.

Natasha Ketabchi
Natasha is a management consultant with experience in capital markets, government, financial restructuring, and venture investments. She has an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and transitioned to venture capital after a career in banking at JPMorgan, HSBC, and Alvarez & Marsal.
From Allbirds to Patagucci: The Ultimate Guide to Finance Fashion
Having the right look has always been important in finance. As dress codes are relaxing and the gamut of careers are expanding, what should one wear? From Allbirds to Patagucci, a style guide for financial services.

Natasha Ketabchi
Natasha transitioned to venture capital after a career in banking built in prestigious firms such as JPMorgan and A&M.
Libation Frontiers: A Deep Dive into the World Wine Industry
The global wine industry generates $29 billion in annual revenue and is at an inflection point. Societal and taste changes are poised to bring new frontiers and opportunities to the industry.

Zachary Elfman
Zach is a modeling, fundamental analysis, and valuation expert that has managed money for PE and hedge funds. He now runs his own business.
Climbing the IoT Value Chain
Impactful applications of IoT are certain to emerge in the near future. We explore how finance professionals should think of the value it can generate for their business by creating a thought framework.

Peter Wells
Peter is a former investment banker and served as the COO of a marketing software startup. He enjoys working with high-growth companies.
Fintech Valuation Methods for Money Transfer Disruptors
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.

Nirvikar Jain
Nirvikar has helped raise $20+ billion of capital and built lines of business as an experienced CEO, banker, and strategist.
What’s Next for Equity Crowdfunding?
Toptal Management Consultant 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.

Bechara Kara
Bechara is a private equity professional and former investment banker, with extensive experience in corporate finance, M&A, and fundraising.
Lyft vs. Uber: Hailing a Ride to Public Markets
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.

Zachary Elfman
Zach is a modelling, fundamental analysis and valuation expert that has managed money for PE and hedge funds. He now runs his own business.
Revenue-based Financing in VC: A Study on Playing Averages Over Home Runs
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.
Toptal Talent Network Experts
Valuation Drivers to Consider During the M&A Sale Process
While selling one’s company can seem like a daunting and difficult task, there exists a proven model and framework that drives valuation to maximum levels and leads to deals successfully getting done. This post is a guide for those contemplating a sale, as to what are the primary and secondary valuation drivers in a sale and how the process is conducted.

Jonathan Wesner, CFA
Jonathan has more than eight years of experience in M&A, successfully completing 35 investment banking transactions totaling $940 million.
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