In this episode, Hall welcomes Vik Sasi of Dreamers VC. Dreamers VC, founded by Will Smith and Keisuke Honda is a venture capital fund bridging established Japanese corporate investors with early-stage, US-based companies. The company was conceived from their shared passion to improve the world. They invest in innovative companies, alongside top-tier lead investors, to improve lives through the application of emerging technology. When appropriate Dreamers VC supports expansion by connecting companies to their global network of capital and strategic partners. Generally, they make the first investment into a Seed, A, or B round, and maintain follow on capital for the growth stages of our investments.

Vik was previously on the investment team at AmFam Ventures. He began his career as an Analyst for the Clinton Foundation’s Health Access Initiative and as a Strategic Advisor to the Haitian Ministry of Health, with additional stints in investment banking at Morgan Stanley and venture capital at Healthbox.

In this episode, Hall and Vik speak about the Dreamer fund and what they specifically look for. According to Vik, Dreamers is a purely opportunistic fund. Nearly 100% of the deal flow is inbound. It all boils down to the team, organic growth and potential for uncapped upside. Vik also touches on what he sees as challenges startups face and offers his advice. It’s really simple, just stay in your lane, run your race, try not to get caught up in trying to keep up with the Joneses.

In raising funding, valuation is a key number the CEO and investor must come to agree on. As a startup you must determine your target valuation. There are several methods. The first method is called Market Comp.

In short, you look at other companies of a similar sector, stage and revenue and determine how you compare. The steps for creating a market comp valuation are as follows:

1. Create a short profile of your startup based on revenue, sector, and subsector. 

2. Find similar startups with known valuations to use as comps which is short for comparables.

3. Compare your startup profile to the comp’s profile and determine how far ahead or behind you are.

4. Adjust the valuation for their differences.

In the Market Comp valuation, use several comparisons. Don’t just rely on one. Market Comp works well when there is a heavy concentration of companies so it’s fairly easy to compare.

Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding.

Let’s go startup something today!