Founders' Handbook for Accurately Calculating Startup Valuation

Craig Armstrong: I teach an undergraduate course in new venture finance, and this has been the most useful book for introducing students to early stage valuations. If you have heard hundreds of entrepreneurial pitches like I have, you have undoubtedly heard your share of cringe worthy statements like, "we are seeking $100,000 for a 10% stake in our company." Never mind the fact that their business exists only on the slides of their pitch and their imaginations. Now my students know how assign values to and prioritize different early stage milestones to demonstrate their knowledge of value creation in startups and how it applies to the stage of financing they are seeking. There are occasional typos and misspellings in Mr. Poland's books but they are easy reads and actionable.

United States on Aug 10, 2023

leonardo dopacio: Many terms and concepts that I was not familiar previously, however everything was written simple to grasp.

Very useful being an entrepreneur. A first friendly approach to talk about startups valuation.

I recommend it.

United States on Nov 11, 2022

MR. A: So many so-called "Investors" haven't a clue. This title cleared up so many misconceptions, in regards to company evaluations.

I am seen as an expert in this field, merely because I made the effort to study this book.

Simple to read and straight to the point.

High-level simplicity of a complex subject.

United Kingdom on Sep 13, 2022

Diego: Feels like some notes on valuation rather than a book.

Spain on Aug 08, 2022

BigStartups Network: This book teaches you so much about startup valuations in short. Highly recommended for early stage startup founders.

India on Jun 07, 2022

Investor, father, entrepreneur: Useful for first time entrepreneurs. Very informative and easy to follow. Rigorous yet simple in essence (not simplistic). Highly recommended.

Spain on Feb 11, 2022

J. Farrelly: This puts startup valuation methods and thoughts neatly in one easy to read and understand place. If you are sucking the end of the pencil trying to figure out (a) what is in the mind of an investor, and (b) how to value an idea on a piece of paper, this book is a good, clear and concise start. And quite possibly all you need.

United States on Nov 16, 2021

Amazon Customer: I gotta applaud the person who cobbled together 101 level info into a cheaply bound what I would call photocopies of his notes. That to me is the real value. How to take something so simple and push it through the Amazon algorithm to sell it to masses.

Having said that if you know nothing about business this book is for you.

Canada on Oct 13, 2021

J. S.: If you are starting your very first company and have no idea how to think about valuations, but you want to try to raise money, then this book might be a great start. It is very short. Gives a good overview of the basic ideas of valuations and explains the key concepts.

If you're an entrepreneur with any experience, or you've got your MBA, or you've raised money, or even been around people that have raised money, then this is probably not what you're looking for. Instead, I would suggest "Venture Deals" by Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson.

Not sure which is right for you? Here's a question that might help you. Do you know the difference between pre-money and post-money valuations? No? Then the Founder's pocket guide is a good place to start. Yes? Then this might be too basic and you'll want Venture Deals.

FYI I'm speaking as a CEO of a series B, VC-backed company. Now that I need to raise, I know that the Founders guide was not nearly the depth I would need. But if I were ten years earlier in my career and thinking of raising $1,000,000 for my first company, then this might have been the tool for me at the time.

United States on Mar 08, 2021

Martin Angst: The quickly digestible overview makes this short read highly valuable. The book has dozens of typos. Overall, I feel that the book series by Poland could be combined and offered at a less expensive print cost. While $7.99 for one book is fine, purchasing the series (as I just did except for one) makes these chapters (each Founder's Pocket Guide topic) combined in a book very expensive.

United States on May 24, 2020