Founded in 1977 by Chuck Newhall, Frank A. Bonsal, and Richard Kramlich, New Enterprise Associates (NEA) is a stage-agnostic venture capital firm that primarily invests in startups from the sectors of life sciences, digital health, enterprise tech, consumer, and fintech. The firm believes in taking an active role in supporting its portfolio companies. Its support …
Picture this: It’s 2025, and the pace of change in the business world is not just fast, it’s a whirlwind. Markets are shifting, customer expectations are evolving at breakneck speed, and competition is fiercer than ever. For founders, the challenge isn’t just about keeping up; it’s about staying ahead. Here’s some good news. Growth is …
In 1976, Apple started as a partnership between Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne. To attract investors and scale its operations, the budding tech company soon became a corporation, a pivotal move that set the stage for its rise to become one of the largest companies in the world. Today, many small businesses find …
As a founder, you must be extremely wary of inaccurate valuations since they can deter investors, set unrealistic growth expectations, and lead to suboptimal decisions in key areas such as mergers and acquisitions (M&As). A great example of this would be Yahoo! passing on Microsoft’s $44.6 billion acquisition offer and then, in 2016, having to …
In one of McKinsey’s Global Survey, they found that less than 1/3rd of companies that underwent corporate restructuring could sustainably improve their performance. However, when companies implemented comprehensive actions in goal-setting, design, and implementation, the success rate shot up to as high as 78%. Once again, we are reminded that the devil resides in the …
Presently, it is common practice for companies, especially startups, to issue equity compensation to attract and retain employees. However, equity compensation comes in various shapes and sizes, primarily, it comes in the form of RSUs, NSOs, and ISOs. Each of these types of equity compensation attracts a unique tax treatment and offers benefits suited to …
Ever since Bitcoin was launched in 2009, every few months, we have seen headlines describing its unbelievable price rise. In the last five years, Bitcoin’s price has risen by over 1,200%! In comparison, 2024 has been a tame year for the cryptocurrency with its price rising by a little over 110%. Nevertheless, this has not …
According to the Hurun Global Unicorn Index, 128 unicorn valuations dropped in 2023. Of these 128 unicorn companies, 42 lost their unicorn status. Half of the companies that lost their unicorn status were American. This trend has sparked fears of the overvaluation of unicorn companies, especially in the USA. Many investors are now questioning the …
Assigning a valuation to early-stage startups is particularly difficult because there is little to no financial history and their products are not market-tested. Instead, these valuations are based on the early-stage startup’s potential, which can be highly speculative. As a result, they may have higher valuation multiples than better-established companies or even other startups for …
The root cause of the failure of 65% of start-ups is due to founder conflicts. Issues like executive misconduct, conflicts of interest, and mismanagement of resources are often the roots of shareholder disputes. A common flashpoint within these disputes is a financial reporting dispute, where disagreements arise over the accuracy, transparency, or interpretation of a company’s …
Venture capitalists serve as a cornerstone of the startup ecosystem, offering not only critical funding but also invaluable guidance and mentorship to innovative and transformative startups as they scale their operations. Hence, it is an encouraging sign to see a spike in venture capital funding. In 2024, US startups raised $209 billion from venture capitalists, …
As we roll into 2025, we hope one of your New Year resolutions is to avoid the late filing of tax returns. If so, you are right on track to avoid late filing penalties which can be as high as 25% of your unpaid taxes. You must note that the US tax season will begin …
Given that some of the most highly valued companies in the US are software companies, this sector is bound to attract investors and breed innovation. Accurate software company valuation has thus become a critical skill for investors, analysts, and business leaders. So, let us help you build an understanding of exactly how software companies are …
In the case of startups, the cap table changes mainly over financing rounds. A simple cap table that starts with equity divided equally among all founders can evolve into a much more complex description of a startup’s ownership structure. Over the course of its life, in order to raise funds and attract and retain employees, a startup …
Recently, Web3 has been widely accepted as the technology that underpins several of the most well-known cryptocurrencies in the world. Consequently, the quantity of web3 unicorns, startups valued at more than $1 billion, has increased significantly. In 2022, the Web3 age may be on the rise, but this tech has existed for a while. Many …
A logical step in resolving disputes over business value is getting the unbiased opinion of a valuation analyst. This holds true even when such disputes snowball into lawsuits. However, when this does happen, the role of a valuation analyst becomes a lot more nuanced and is referred to as a valuation expert witness. The goal …
Employee-owned companies are a type of company in which the employees have direct ownership, indirect ownership, or a combination of both. The main goal of employee ownership is to encourage worker loyalty, increase the workforce’s productivity, and create a culture that empowers employees to make a greater contribution. It is widely believed that most employee-owned …
It is an unfortunate fact that thousands of American companies file for bankruptcy every year. In 2023, we saw 18,926 businesses file for bankruptcy, 40.39% higher than the bankruptcy filings in 2022. Each bankruptcy filing would involve arranging the sale of assets, transferring assets to creditors to settle debts, and allocating leftover funds to all …
As the 2026 lifetime gift and estate tax exemption sunset approaches, it has become even more important to wind up your estate planning. If the estate tax provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) are not extended, we expect the lifetime federal estate and gift tax exemption to drop to $6.99 million in …
Private equity represents significant wealth creation opportunities and the asset class involved in nurturing technologies. However, the diverse funding needs, company structures, and investment styles give rise to complex relationships in private equity. A high level of delicacy and professionalism is required to navigate such relationships. This is where expert insights into private equity disputes …
