For most of its history, venture capital has been an industry where the price of admission was experienced. But that gatekeeping dynamic is quietly eroding. In 2025, for the first time, new VC managers with and without prior VC experience were nearly equal. This convergence signals a real opportunity. The moment to launch a new …
Last Updated: April 2026 As of Apr 2026, there are over 1,735 unicorns globally, spanning around 59 countries. This marks a notable increase from previous years, with the number rising significantly since 2022, when there were approximately 1,413. The U.S. remains a leader, hosting around half of the world’s unicorns 890 and claiming more than …
Last Updated: April, 2026 The process of raising enough capital is the backbone of every startup. But company founders will agree that it is easier said than done. With a limited operating period, few assets and no reputation to rely on, convincing investors, ie. venture capital firms, to fund your startup is always a challenge. …
Microsoft Corporation was founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in Albuquerque. The company was profitable almost from day one. It is currently the world’s leading technology platform, fundamentally shaping the 2026 landscape through its AI-first strategy and its dominance in enterprise cloud computing. Founded in 1975, the company’s 1986 IPO remains one …
Last Updated: April, 2026 The startup marketplace by design is mostly cash-strapped, especially in its early stages. Founders start a company pooling in resources from personal savings and donations from family and friends. Beyond this, a steady injection of funds is required for the company to innovate and grow. This is when startups find angel …
The importance of picking the right co-founders was brilliantly explained by Paul Graham. He says that co-founders are to a startup what location is for real estate. You can change anything about a house except its location. Similarly, a startup can change its core idea, mission, or targeted market, but changing its co-founders is hard. …
The fundraising landscape in 2026 has shifted toward a “hybrid” model where digital platforms play a critical role alongside traditional venture capital. For startups, choosing the right platform is no longer just about the money. It is about the speed of closing, the quality of the investor network, and the long-term impact on the cap …
FinTech refers to any organization that uses technology to enhance or automate financial services and operations. It is a combination of “finance” and “technology”. The term refers to a rapidly growing industry that provides various services to both consumers and businesses. FinTech has various applications, ranging from mobile banking to insurance to cryptocurrency and investment …
29% of startups fail not because their ideas were flawed, but because they ran out of money. This is a striking reality given that the United States alone is home to over 12,000 venture capitalists (VCs), according to Crunchbase data. This suggests a lack of connection, rather than a shortage of capital. Founders who know where to …
Dividend recapitalizations involve issuing new debt to pay out a special dividend to investors. If you compare the before and after snapshots of the capital structure, you will notice that some of the equity is replaced with debt after a dividend recapitalization. Companies pursue dividend recapitalizations as an alternative exit facility that doesn’t drain its …
A business’s true value is a central theme in all fundraising rounds and IRS audits. In fundraising rounds, not only does valuation determine the amount of equity given up for the required investment, but it also affects how the early investors are compensated. In mergers and acquisitions, a consensus about the business valuation can be …
2026 is shaping up to be a blockbuster year for SpaceX. The recently announced merger with xAI values SpaceX’s pre-merger shares at 25% higher than December’s secondary market offering, and the current secondary market activity shows an additional 17.84% premium above the $1.25 trillion merger valuation. In just two months, SpaceX’s valuation has surged by …
Last Updated: Feb, 2026 Choosing a business entity is one of the most important legal decisions an entrepreneur makes when starting a new company. With the numerous advantages, it provides to the entrepreneur, the Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) is gaining favor. A limited liability partnership (LLP) is a type of business entity that combines the …
Investing through the qualified small business stock (QSBS) route allows investors to exclude capital gains of up to $15 million or 10x the investment basis, whichever is greater. These benefits are limited to certain businesses with gross asset values up to $75 million. This makes QSBS attestation particularly important to raise funds as an early-stage …
Modern equity structures evolve quickly. A startup might begin with four founders and end its first year with 30 angel investors, a growing option pool, and several SAFE notes. As the company scales, the cap table becomes a living system that must instantly reflect new grants, vesting schedules, funding rounds, and conversions. Manually performing these …
Last Updated: Feb 2026 There is no quick or easy way to get equity capital for a business. If you’re successful, however, you’ll have the means to see your business through to its full potential. Series A fundraising rounds are very important to a startup’s development and eventual success. The Series A funding rounds follow …
The complexity of 409A valuations increases exponentially as companies gear up for public listings. For companies that must recruit key leadership talent ahead of an IPO, these growing complexities become a significant obstacle. In the run-up to an IPO, material events multiply, valuation inputs evolve, and the spotlight on valuation defensibility intensifies. Getting your 409A …
M&A activity in the United States is regaining momentum. Through the first three quarters of 2025, total global deal value grew 10% compared to 2024, with the Americas experiencing 26% growth. 62% of all acquisition targets were from North America, with US companies acquiring most of them. Such activity suggests an inclination towards cross-border revenue …
In July 2025, Chevron completed its $53 billion acquisition of Hess, marking the end of a nearly two-year journey that began with the initial announcement on October 23, 2023. The timeline for this acquisition got extended because of an arbitration case brought by rivals Exxon Mobil and the China National Offshore Oil Corporation. This goes …
Purchase price allocation (PPA) is the method for allocating the acquisition cost to assets acquired and liabilities assumed, with any residual amount recognized as goodwill or a bargain purchase gain. While the underlying objective of PPA is broadly consistent across accounting frameworks, the application can differ meaningfully between US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and …
