eValuation Tool

No. After the three months your license ends automatically. But you can always extend your contract for another 3 months if you want to continue using the tool.

Open the contact form and let us know your new billing address. We will then change it for you.

To inform us about a new phone number and receive a verification code please use our contact form. You can find the contact form by pressing the question mark icon in the menu bar.

Basically you only need some (qualitative) basic information about your company and business model. To use all methods of the tool, you also need a business plan for the next 2 years. The best way to do this is to register for free and have a look at the input fields. Alternatively you can download the sample report. You can then use it to familiarize yourself easily and free of charge. 

The input stage into the tool is quick and can be completed in less than 30 minutes if all information are available. This includes, for example, information from the business plan or important company information about the financial history (previous financing rounds, required capital, shareholders, etc.).  

Within the contractually defined three months, an unlimited number of evaluations and result downloads are possible. Only the name and the year of foundation cannot be changed afterwards - all other entries can be changed as often as you like, e.g. to carry out evaluations for different scenarios of your business plan.

Yes, except for the name and year of foundation, you can change all entries as often as you would like and make appropriate evaluations. This allows you to enter different scenarios of your business plan and download the corresponding result report. 

Basically, the order of the outlined methods in the dashboard gives you a first hint about the applicability in the different phases of a startup. While startups in the (pre-) seed phase should orientate themselves towards the scorecard method, the other methods can be better suited as the business model matures. 

It should be emphasized that the scorecard method has the advantage that it does not require any financial forecasts, as it is based solely on the qualitative answers in the questionnaire and your industry classification. This makes it particularly suitable for very young companies. However, it is no longer suitable for Series A and Later Stage Financing, so it should be completely removed from the weighting in these cases. 

If your financial plan is already based on detailed planning and you have provided the proof of concept, i.e. you can estimate your achievable revenues and costs with a certain degree of certainty, the weighting of the two DCF methods should increase. In principle, the VC method and the two DCF methods can be used in this case.

In a financing round, the enterprise value is particularly relevant to determine the amount of shares in the company that should be sold for the investment. In principle, a distinction is made between pre-money and post-money valuation. The pre-money value of your company reflects the value before the current financing. The amount of shares that must be surrendered for the targeted investment is calculated on the basis of the so-called post-money valuation (pre-money value plus capital raised) as the share of the investment in the post-money value.

In the scorecard method, the value of the startup is derived from assessments of an industry-specific peer group in seed financing rounds. The risk profile of the startup ("Startup Score"), which is determined on the basis of our qualitative questionnaire, also serves as the basis for the evaluation. This method is therefore particularly suitable for startups in the seed phase. Based on the average valuation of comparable companies in their respective seed financing rounds, a surcharge or discount is applied to this value, depending on whether your startup has a below- or above-average risk according to the questionnaire (measured by your answers on the topics team, market, USP, etc.).

In the venture capital method, the value of the startup is calculated from the potential proceeds of investors in the event of a future sale. In the first step, the value of the company at the time of exit is determined by multiplying the sales forecast in the exit year by an industry-specific sales multiple. This future enterprise value is then discounted to its current value, taking into account a risk-adjusted return. This return is calculated as the sum of the industry-specific cost of capital and a company-specific risk premium on the discount rate. This premium is based on the risk profile of the startup according to the qualitative questionnaire ("Startup Score").

Basic procedure

In the discounted cash flow method, the value of the company is determined on the basis of expected future cash flows. First, earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) are calculated and reduced by corporate taxes (assuming a company without debt). Thereafter, non-cash income and expenses are eliminated and replaced with corresponding income and expenses. Instead of depreciation and amortization, capital expenditures (CAPEX), for example, are applied. In addition, changes in net current assets that do not affect income must also be applied. Your business plan is updated on the basis of the input for the next three years, taking into account an industry-specific EBITDA margin.

Derivation of free cash flows

In order to take into account the higher risk associated with a startup compared to an established company as well as the significantly higher planning uncertainty, a risk discount is applied to the projected future cash flows. The so-called survival probabilities applied for this purpose are based on empirically determined data and reflect the probability with which an early-stage company (depending on age) will still be active in future periods. In principle, the younger a company, the higher its statistical default risk or the lower its survival probability and thus the higher the discount to be applied to future cash flows.

For value derivation, the free cash flows are discounted to today's level using an industry-specific capitalization interest rate. To arrive at the market value of the company's equity, the company's so-called ""net debt"" is then deducted (queried in the tool under ""interest-bearing liabilities less cash""). 

The two DCF methods differ with regard to the valuation procedure in perpetuity. While the ""DCF method with LTG"" (LTG stands for ""Long Term Growth"") determines the terminal value according to the Gordon Growth Model with a long-term growth rate, the ""DCF method with multiples"" determines the terminal value using a sales multiple. 

The comparative valuations of other companies used for the scorecard method are based on information from the ""PitchBook"" database. An industry-specific peer and their valuations in seed financing rounds are used for this method.

The capital market parameters underlying the derivation of the cost of capital as well as trading multiples and sustainable margin assumptions are compiled on the basis of an industry-specific peer group of the MSCI. The database used for this purpose is the Capital IQ platform of S&P. Capital market parameters are updated on a monthly basis.

As an audit firm, we are subject to strict regulatory requirements regarding the conclusion of contracts with our clients. Before finalizing your subscription, we must perform audit procedures relating to independence, risk assessment, and money laundering. When these have been successfully completed, you will receive a message from us and be able to use eValuation Startup in its entirety.

All data inputs or changes in input masks or on the result page are saved if you press the "NEXT" (input masks) respectively "RECALCULATE" (result page) button.

Our PwC experts will be happy to assist you. Get in touch with us and use our contact formular. You will also find a sample report here that will help guide you through the process.