Founders’ guides to equity, valuations, and company growth.
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. …
Eqvista sat down with Antxon Caballero, CEO of Heuristik, to explore how a personal family crisis sparked a groundbreaking biometric solution for patient identification in healthcare. Heuristik’s origins stem from a near-fatal medication error, highlighting Europe’s widespread patient misidentification issues affecting up to 12.5% of cases on average. Antxon explains the company’s AI-powered fingerprint technology, …
At the Montgomery Summit, I had the opportunity to present Eqvista Real-Time Company Valuation® and share a broader perspective on where private markets are heading. The discussion was not just about our company, but about a structural shift taking place across the entire market: private companies are staying private longer, reaching far greater scale, and creating …
If you’re a seed-to-Series B AI founder raising in 2026, you’re entering the most capital-intensive fundraising environment tech has ever experienced. In 2024, AI startups attracted approximately $100-130 billion in venture capital, accounting for about one-third of all VC dollars worldwide, but that was just the beginning. AI secured nearly 50% of global funding in …
Every month, Eqvista delivers valuation reports for client assets worth over $5 billion, spanning everything from growth-stage startups to unicorns, with our largest single engagement reaching $25 billion. Across thousands of engagements annually, patterns emerge not just in the numbers, but in methodologies and temperaments. This article distills hard-won lessons from that volume of work, …
2025 was a year of recovery for venture capital, but calling it a full comeback misses the point. Yes, global VC funding reached $425 billion. Funding gained 30% year over year, up from $328 billion in 2024. However, when examining where the money actually went, a clearer picture appears, and capital in 2025 was plentiful …
Let us assume that you have the initial cash you need to set everything up for your business, but the trouble comes later when you look into the cash flow in the future. You are hurting for cash flow, which is the money coming in every month. Because of this, it can be really 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 …
From a side project born out of a designer’s frustration to one of the world’s most trusted creative marketplaces, Vecteezy’s journey is a testament to solving real problems through persistence and purpose. In this exclusive interview, Eqvista speaks with Shawn Rubel, Founder and CEO of Vecteezy, about how he turned a personal pain point into …
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 …
Many startups discover too late that their early 409A valuation wasn’t done correctly and no longer aligns with updated financial data or compliance requirements. The problem? Inaccuracies in those past reports can create inconsistencies across filings, affect option pricing, and raise red flags during audits or due diligence. Eqvista’s retroactive 409A valuation service resolves these …
VC funding in Q4 2025 indicates a stable yet cautious investment environment. While a large amount of money is still being invested globally, this funding is heavily concentrated in a few specific regions and sectors. North America remains the clear leader in global VC, bringing in $91.15 billion in Q4. At the same time, companies …
In an era where semiconductor design demands unprecedented speed and innovation, Harald Kröll, Co-Founder and CEO of Chipmind, shares his vision for transforming chip development through “design-aware” AI agents. In this interview, Eqvista explores Kröll’s journey from digital chip design engineer and SoC product manager to launching Chipmind, addressing key pain points like excessive debugging (90% …
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 …
In this interview, Eqvista speaks with Andrew G. A. Correa, Founder of Monostate, an AI company focused on making it easier for teams to build and deploy custom, high‑performance models for specialized tasks. With a background in artificial intelligence research and hands-on experience turning advanced ideas into practical tooling, Andrew is helping redefine how companies …
Disclaimer: Eqvista Real-Time Company Valuation® is an AI-driven estimate for informational purposes only; it is not a certified 409A valuation or a substitute for legal, tax, or investment advice. The Illusion of the Peak In 2021, consumer banking app Step rode the fintech boom to a massive $1 Billion valuation. Fast forward to February 2026, …
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