Startups and Angel Investment

3 points by noelchurchill ↗ HN
I'm starting a startup with clear methods of generating revenue and although I hope it becomes successful beyond my wildest expectations, I honestly don't have any clue as to how successful it will become and how many customers I will be able to get and how long it will take to get them. I don't think any startup can know these numbers.

I'm speaking with investors about receiving some angel funding. Without an accurate projection of revenue and expenses, how do I know how much of the company to offer them?

4 comments

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The market decides.

They'll decide what valuation to offer you; you'll decide whether or not to take their offer.

So I just give them my best estimates of revenues and expenses and they'll make an offer based from that? How long into the future should I project?
Their offer probably won't be based on your estimates of revenues and expenses. For most startups those are mere guesses, and usually very hopeful ones. For a typical early stage startup, their offer will be based on things like whether you seem smart and driven, and whether the project seems like it could be really big.
If you're pre-revenue, offer them convertible debt.