VC Investment Memo - Valuation Using 3 Methods
A valuation workbook, one-page recommendation note, sensitivity table, and clear investment view.
Build
Model, memo, dashboard, notebook, or deck.
Explain
Clear assumptions, insight, and recommendation.
Show
Resume bullet and interview story.
What you are doing
You are working as a Private Equity. Your manager asks you to use Startup Valuation (Pre-Revenue & Growth Stage) to answer a real business or investment question and present a decision-ready output.
Show that you can apply Startup Valuation (Pre-Revenue & Growth Stage) in a practical analyst workflow, not only explain the theory.
What to make
A valuation workbook, one-page recommendation note, sensitivity table, and clear investment view.
Deliverables
- Brief
- Model or notebook
- Charts or dashboard
- Resume bullet
- Source and assumption log
- One-page executive summary
- Final output file
How to start
- Pick one listed company and define the valuation date.
- Collect financial statements for at least three years.
- Choose 4-6 comparable companies and capture market multiples.
- Create an assumptions tab with revenue, margin, capex, working capital, WACC, and terminal growth.
Step-by-step execution
- Build historical financials and clean one-off items.
- Forecast revenue, costs, taxes, capex, and working capital.
- Calculate DCF value, trading comps value, and transaction comps value where possible.
- Run sensitivity on WACC, terminal growth, exit multiple, and margin assumptions.
- Write a final recommendation explaining upside/downside, key risks, and what would change your view.
Data and sources
- Latest annual report
- Quarterly results or investor presentation
- NSE/BSE price history
- Peer company filings
- Public transaction/news sources
Tools to use
- Excel for VC Method and First Chicago calculations
- Word/Docs for investment memo
- Crunchbase free tier
- Inc42 for Indian startup funding data
- Public filings
- Google Docs
- Excel
Quality rubric
- Model balances and formulas are traceable.
- Assumptions are tied to filings or clear logic.
- Comps are relevant by business model, size, and geography.
- Sensitivity output changes the conclusion logically.
- Recommendation is concise and defensible.
Resume bullet
Built a a valuation workbook, one-page recommendation note, sensitivity table, and clear investment view. for Startup Valuation (Pre-Revenue & Growth Stage), using Excel for VC Method and First Chicago calculations, Word/Docs for investment memo, Crunchbase free tier to convert raw information into a decision-ready finance output.
Interview talk track
- Problem: explain the business question and why it matters for Private Equity.
- Method: describe the data collected, assumptions made, and analysis performed.
- Decision: state the recommendation, key risk, and what would change your view.