Financial Modelling for Startups + Valuation for Founders Bundle

i. Financial Modelling for Startups

What are the most common uses of financial models at work? How do models focused on growth and scale differ from models focused on risk and strategy? Do we need complex models or simple models? How do we validate assumptions? How much does model design matter?

This course is designed to help you understand the need for financial modelling, the various components of a revenue model and the use of the model to define and evaluate strategy. It explains the importance of unit economics, some methods used and mistakes made when modelling market size and the underlying mindset necessary for building these models.

It walks through a detailed step by step process to build financial models (income statement, balance sheet & cash flow statement), and calibrates them to the market, reviews common mistakes made and demonstrates how these may be corrected.

The models we build are only as good as the questions we ask. The course therefore focuses on asking and answering the right questions. Do we need to build a model to manage and plan for growth or debt servicing? Launch roadmap or capital requirements? Scale, turnaround or downside protection? For validating assumptions or pricing product offering?

The course illustrates how downside risk is factored into the model and how the model is tested for alternative assumptions and strategies. It explains how the model may be structured and results interpreted to answer questions posed by various stakeholders (lenders, owners & shareholders) and how to assess whether business are over or undervalued.

We use three case studies to explain the concepts and work with multiple approaches to designing models.

1. Maya’s Closet: Builds a financial model for growth and capital allocation for startups and founders. The case study looks at a growing startup’s capital needs and the decisions the founders need to make to pick one or more growth strategies.
2. MedAngle: Reinforces and revises unit economics concepts
3. GEMS: Builds a financial model for credit analysis and financial forecasting. The GEMS Education case study looks at the GEMS school system debt load in the midst of the Covid-19 related slow down in UAE to evaluate the capacity of the group to raise more debt.

ii. Valuation for Founders

Founders usually find it difficult to reach consensus on the valuation question to close the deal with investors. The reason? Valuation lies too close to their hearts. What is required is a look through a neutral lens - a balanced view considering both the founders & investors perspective.

This course considers the following question:

• How much is your business worth?
• How do you customize the conventional valuation models for the start-up world?
• What are the biggest drivers of value in the start-up world?
• What decisions impact valuations more than others?
• What are the boundary conditions under which models break down?
• How do investors answer the valuation question in their minds?

We start by looking at models, mechanics, boundary conditions and intuition. We then take a deeper dive focusing on insights, takeaways and decisions and choices that impact future value.

We use real business case studies to value and compare investment opportunities and get comfortable with valuation frameworks.

We look at competing ideas in the the Fintech space - a payment start-up and a digital insurance venture - to gain further insights into investor attractiveness and value.

We also present a brief guide for founders on venture investing.

Learning Objectives

After taking this course you will be able to:

i. Financial Modelling for Startups

• Recognize the benefits of building a financial model in EXCEL
• Understand how to ask the right questions for effective model building

• Appreciate the mindset needed to build effective models

• Identify drivers and trends that influence model assumptions & variables

• Build financial statements with a specific view towards free cash flows, risk and downside exposure

• Recognize mistakes made in building models & correct balancing errors

• Calibrate the model to historical trends and market prices

• Assess how to refine models for identified weaknesses

• Evaluate model results and recommend actions

• Link economic models to business models and analyse the interaction of the two

• Factor in downside risk to prepare for adverse events

• Evaluate different strategies and test their impact on margins and values

• Review relationships and transactions from an analytics lens

• Analyse the sensitivity of key performance and business metrics to changes in economic and business cycles

• Assess the appropriateness of a business’ enterprise value using valuation multiples

ii. Valuation for Founders

• Understand how valuation frameworks are used to evaluate a business
• Identify decisions, factors and drivers that impact valuations
• Appreciate the reasons that make some businesses more valuable than others
• Recognize why certain markets are more attractive than others
• Use tools and metrics to compare businesses

The Zen of Building Financial Models. Play list.

Please note: Your online course purchase will be processed within 24 hours after receipt of payment on weekdays (Monday-Friday). There may be a slight delay on orders placed outside of regular business hours 9am – 5pm (GMT +5) or on weekends. Once your order is processed you will be provided a link with a username and password to access your purchased course.