Founders’ guides to equity, valuations, and company growth.
In this Founder spotlight edition, we introduce Nasha Fitter, Co-Founder and CEO of FOXG1 Research Foundation and the Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer at Citizen Health. Nasha Fitter is deeply passionate about supporting children and families affected by FOXG1 syndrome. Nasha’s commitment to this cause is not just professional but deeply personal, driving her to …
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 …
In this edition of Founder Spotlight, we’re featuring Mathieu Nohet, the Founder and CEO of baCta, a Paris-based startup focused on producing biosynthetic, carbon-negative natural rubber using engineered microorganisms. The company has developed a unique manufacturing process that could reduce carbon emissions by up to 151%. Under Mathieu’s leadership, baCta has significantly progressed in developing …
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 …
In this edition of Founder Spotlight, we’re featuring Varun Sud, the Founder and CEO of Juleo, a dating app launched in 2023 to revolutionize the online matchmaking landscape. In August 2024, Juleo raised $2.5 million in angel funding from over 180 investors. Juleo distinguishes itself by moving away from the prevalent “swipe culture” associated with …
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, …
In this edition of the founder spotlight series, we have a prominent figure in sustainable transportation: Michael Fernandez-Ferri – Co-Founder and Managing Director of VELA, a pioneering French company focused on 100% wind-powered maritime transport. Through VELA, Fernandez-Ferri envisions a future where shipping is faster, more cost-effective, and fundamentally aligned with ecological sustainability, thereby addressing …
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 …
Welcome to the latest edition of Founder Spotlight, featuring Josh Bowling, Managing Member of The EVE Group. With extensive leadership experience, he is dedicated to guiding companies and leaders through transitional stages of development. Josh started EVE because of his experience as an operating executive and owner of for-profit companies where he experienced firsthand the …
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 …
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 …
In this edition of Founder Spotlight, we introduce a prominent figure in the biotechnology sector, Alex Federation, the co-founder and CEO of Talus Bio, a company focused on developing innovative cancer therapeutics. Under Alex’s leadership, Talus Bio employs advanced methods such as functional proteomics and machine learning to explore and target transcription factors, aiming to …
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 …
Companies’ equity is the most powerful tool at any stage, from early angel rounds, through all the alphabet rounds, IPO, being publicly traded, or even being delisted. Every stage involves equity movement. Some companies choose to remain privately owned with a small number of employees holding ownership stakes. Great entrepreneurs’ equity ownership is fascinating. A …
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 …
Over 25,000 companies use Eqvista to simplify equity, stay compliant, and scale—whether hiring their first employee or closing their next round.