Venture Valuation Tool — Sheet Map
Sheets (7)
README, License, Venture Valuation, Simple Venture Valuation, Resources, Model Comparison, Changelog
The workbook is dual-mode. The full Venture Valuation sheet models one average investment carried through 7 rounds (Seed → Series F+ → Exit), with graduation rates, full waterfall, and expected value. The Simple Venture Valuation sheet collapses all of that into a single-page, breakpoint-style evaluator for one specific investment. Use one or the other — they are independent.
Both sheets assume nonparticipating preferred, 1x liquidation preferences, and reverse-chronological seniority (latest round senior). They also rely on iterative calculations (circular references) to resolve option pool sizing — Excel/Sheets must have iterative calc enabled.
Venture Valuation (B1:M165) — Full Per-Investment Model
Single working sheet. Columns D–J are the 7 round stages (D=Seed, E=Series A, F=Series B, G=Series C, H=Series D, I=Series E, J=Series F+). Column C is "Before Seed." Column K is totals or "Exit." Column M is notes only. Row 5 is the round header row.
Cap Table Inputs: SAFEs and Notes Converting (R9-R32)
Two parallel blocks for the modeled Investor (R10-R20) and All other Preferred (R22-R32). Each block has a pre-money convertibles sub-block and a post-money SAFE sub-block.
| Row | Label | Type | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| R11 | Premoney SAFEs/Notes converting, Investor ($) | INPUT | $250k @ Seed |
| R12 | Discount Rate | INPUT (%) | 20% @ Seed |
| R13 | Valuation Cap ($) | INPUT | 0 |
| R14 | Share Price | FORMULA | min(equity, cap-based, discount-based) |
| R15 | Shares | FORMULA | amount / share price |
| R16 | Postmoney SAFEs converting, Investor ($) | INPUT | 0 |
| R17 | Discount Rate | INPUT (%) | 0 |
| R18 | Valuation Cap ($) | INPUT | 0 |
| R19 | Share Price | FORMULA | YC post-money treatment |
| R20 | Shares | FORMULA | amount / share price |
| R23-R27 | All Other Preferred — pre-money SAFEs/Notes block | INPUT + FORMULA | mirror of R11-R15 |
| R28-R32 | All Other Preferred — post-money SAFEs block | INPUT + FORMULA | mirror of R16-R20 |
The conversion math assumes investor-friendly conversion: share price is the minimum of equity price, cap-based price, and discount-based price. Comment on R11 explicitly says "assuming investor friendly conversion by default; feel free to edit for different conversion methods."
New Preferred Equity Investment, per Round (R34-R49)
| Row | Label | Type | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| R35 | Convertibles converting in round | FORMULA | D11+D16 (and R23+R28 for others) |
| R36 | Investor, new Preferred Equity ($) | INPUT | 0 at most rounds; E36 is a circular formula =D47*E38 seeded to maintain pro-rata at Series A |
| R37 | All other Preferred, new equity | FORMULA | R38 - R36 |
| R38 | Total Investment Round | FORMULA (INPUT-colored) | =0.2*R40/(1-0.2) — assumes 20% sold per round by default; edit to change |
| R39 | Option Pool, as % of postmoney cap | INPUT (%) | 20%, 10%, 10%, 5%, 5%, 5%, 5% |
| R40 | Premoney Valuation ($) | INPUT at D40; FORMULAS at E40-J40 | $8M → ×3 → ×3 → ×3 → ×2 → ×1.75 → ×1.5 |
| R41 | Postmoney Valuation | FORMULA | R40 + R38 |
| R42 | % of Company Sold in each round | FORMULA | R38 / R41 |
| R43 | # Shares issued to Investor in round | FORMULA | R53 − prior R53 |
| R44 | # Shares issued to all investors in round | FORMULA | (R53 + R54) − prior |
| R45 | Share Price | FORMULA | (R40 − R41×R39) / fully-diluted denom — uses option pool + convertibles + prior shares |
| R46 | Blended Share Price, incl. Convertibles | FORMULA | total dollars / total new shares |
| R47 | Ownership %, Investor | FORMULA | R53 / R57 |
| R48 | Ownership %, all other Preferred | FORMULA | R54 / R57 |
| R49 | Ownership %, all Preferred | FORMULA | R47 + R48 |
Row 38 is INPUT-styled (blue on grey) but shipped as a formula. The default makes total round size = 25% of premoney, giving 20% post-money ownership. Overwrite it with a raw dollar amount to set a specific round size.
Row 40 is the key valuation input — only D40 is a raw value; E40-J40 are formulas that chain valuation multipliers (3x, 3x, 3x, 2x, 1.75x, 1.5x). Edit each cell to set an explicit future valuation.
Proforma Cap Table (R51-R57)
Standard running cap table.
| Row | Label | Type | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| R52 | Common shares | INPUT at C52; FORMULA after (=prior) |
10,000,000 constant |
| R53 | Investor shares (cumulative) | FORMULA | new round shares + converted SAFEs + prior |
| R54 | All other Preferred shares (cumulative) | FORMULA | same structure |
| R55 | Options and RSUs Available | FORMULA | prior row + prior-round new options |
| R56 | Options, New in Round | FORMULA | =max(0, sum(R52:R55)*R39/(1-R39)) — circular reference, requires iterative calc |
| R57 | Fully-Diluted Shares, after Round | FORMULA | sum(R52:R56) |
C52, C53, C54, C55, C56 are INPUT cells on the "Before Seed" column — use these to seed a non-empty starting cap table. Default is 10M common and everything else zero.
Graduation Rates and Exits (R59-R68)
The portfolio-level assumption layer. For one average investment, what fraction raises the next round, exits now, or fails.
| Row | Label | Type | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| R62 | % Companies that Graduate | FORMULA | 1 − R63 − R64 |
| R63 | % Companies that Fail | INPUT (%) | 0%, 45%, 35%, 20%, 10%, 5%, 0%, 0% |
| R64 | % Companies that Exit | INPUT (%) | 0%, 5%, 10%, 25%, 40%, 45%, 50%, 100% |
| R66 | Raise next round (cumulative prob.) | FORMULA | compounds graduation |
| R67 | Fail after this round | FORMULA | prob. of reaching × fail rate; K67 sums to ~70% |
| R68 | Exit after this round | FORMULA | prob. of reaching × exit rate; K68 sums to ~30% |
K67 + K68 = 1. Default distribution: ~70% eventually fail, ~30% eventually exit.
Proceeds and Returns (R70-R134) — Waterfall Engine
For each hypothetical exit stage (column = round after which exit occurs), the model runs a nonparticipating-preferred waterfall.
| Row | Label | Type | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| R72 | Exit Price as multiple of last postmoney | INPUT (#) | 1.5, 1.5, 1.5, 0.85, 0.75, 1.15, 1.25 |
| R73 | Exit Price ($) | FORMULA (INPUT-colored) | R72 × R41; can be hard-overridden |
| R74 | Total Liquidation Preferences | FORMULA | running sum of R38 |
| R76-R86 | Shares Converting to Common block | FORMULA | per-class if/then on whether conversion > preference |
| R88-R98 | Shares NOT Converting (taking preference) block | FORMULA | complement of R76-R86 |
| R100-R110 | Proceeds from Liquidation Preferences block | FORMULA | min(preference, residual exit value) |
| R112-R122 | Proceeds from Distributions to Common block | FORMULA | pro-rata share of (exit − preferences) |
| R123 | Check (total proceeds = total exit) | FORMULA | should equal 0 |
| R125-R134 | Proceeds per Share block | FORMULA | per share class |
R72 is the primary input — override to model different exit multiples per round. R73 is formula but INPUT-colored; raw dollar exit values can be typed directly.
The waterfall assumes 1x non-participating preferred, latest round senior (reverse chronological), and common + options pari passu. No participating preferred, no caps, no anti-dilution. Each per-class row (R77-R83, R101-R107) uses if(preference > pro-rata share, take preference, convert) logic.
Investor Return Summary (R136-R162)
Ties it all together for the modeled Investor.
| Row | Label | Type | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| R138 | Investment per Share, for Investor | FORMULA | $ invested / shares issued |
| R139 | Proceeds per Share, for Investor | FORMULA | from waterfall |
| R140 | Proceeds per Company, if exited per stage | FORMULA | sum across all share classes owned |
| R141 | Average total invested per type of company | INPUT at C141; FORMULA elsewhere | cumulative weighted invested |
| R142 | Total Proceeds, by type of exit | FORMULA | R140 × R68 |
| R143 | % of Total Proceeds, by type of exit | FORMULA | R142 / sum(R142) |
| R144 | Gross Return Multiple, if exit at each stage | FORMULA | R140 / R141 |
| R147-R153 | Gross Multiple per round block | FORMULA | if invested through row-round and held to column-round |
| R156-R162 | Expected Value per round block | FORMULA | R147-R153 × exit probability; K column is total EV |
K156-K162 is the money number: total expected value per $1 invested at each entry round. Default model shows K156 = ~3.08x EV for Seed entry, declining to ~1.25x at Series F+.
Simple Venture Valuation (A1:AB46) — Single-Page Evaluator
A deliberate shortcut. No round-by-round cap table, no graduation chains. One investment, one Exit column per breakpoint (D-H = 5 exit scenarios), one probability row.
Inputs (R8-R23)
| Row | Label | Type | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| R8/D8 | Total Liquidation Preferences, pre-investment ($) | INPUT | $1M |
| R11/D11 | Amount invested in modeled round, Investor ($) | INPUT | $500k |
| R11/E11 | Round date | INPUT (date) | today − 4 years (dummy) |
| R12/D12 | Amount invested in modeled round, All others ($) | INPUT | 0 |
| R13/D13 | Premoney Valuation ($) | INPUT | $6M |
| R14/D14 | Postmoney Valuation | FORMULA | sum of R11-R13 |
| R15/D15 | Ownership %, Investor, post-investment | FORMULA | D11 / D14 |
| R18/D18 | Additional invested, Investor ($) | INPUT | 0 |
| R18/E18 | Additional round date | INPUT (date) | today − 1.5 years (dummy) |
| R19/D19 | Additional invested, All others ($) | INPUT | $3M |
| R20/D20 | Additional ownership % purchased, Investor | INPUT (%) | 0% |
| R21/D21 | Dilution from Additional, All Other Investors | INPUT (%) | 30% |
| R22/D22 | Dilution from Additional Option Pools | INPUT (%) | 20% |
| R23/D23 | Ownership %, post-all investment | FORMULA | D20 + (1−D21) × D15 × (1−D22) |
R20-R22 are explicit shortcuts — instead of modeling each follow-on round, you specify total dilution from others and from options. The comment on R20 says: "intentional shortcut, to not need to model each individual investment round."
Exit Breakpoints (R25-R32)
Columns D-H are 5 exit price breakpoints built automatically from the liquidation preference stack.
| Row | Label | Type | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| R26 | Exit Price ($) | FORMULA (INPUT-colored) | Auto-built: D=sum(R18,R19), E=+R11+R12, F=+R8, G=F×3, H=G×3 |
| R27 | Liquidation Preferences | FORMULA | cumulative preference stack |
| R30 | Proceeds from LP (additional invested) | FORMULA | LP share of investor's follow-on at below-preference exits |
| R31 | Proceeds from LP (modeled round) | FORMULA | LP share of investor's original round |
| R32 | Proceeds from Distributions to Common | FORMULA | max(0, exit − total LP) × R23 |
| R33 | Total Proceeds to Investor | FORMULA | sum R30:R32 |
| R35 | Gross Multiple | FORMULA | R33 / (R11 + R18); equivalent to MOIC |
| R36 | Probability of Exit (per column) | INPUT (%) | 0/0/0/0/100% (all weight on highest exit by default) |
| R37 | Expected Proceeds to Investor | FORMULA | sumproduct(R33, R36) |
| R38 | Expected Gross Multiple | FORMULA | R37 / total invested |
| R39 | Expected Gross IRR | FORMULA | xirr on R42:D44 |
R26 default formula chain creates the first 3 breakpoints at key preference points (additional only, + modeled round, + pre-existing), then extrapolates 3x multiples above. Override any cell to set specific exit dollar values.
R36 is where scenario probability is assigned. H36 is a formula (=1−sum(D36:G36)) so the row always sums to 100%.
IRR Support Block (R41-R44)
Three-line cash-flow table used by XIRR in R39. R42 = initial investment (negative), R43 = follow-on investment (negative), R44 = expected proceeds (positive). Dates come from R11, R18, and R39 respectively.
Resources (A1:F27)
Reference links to other Foresight/Hemrock VC models and third-party resources (Tactyc, Causal, OpenVC, Eniac, AngelList, VC Method). Informational only. Safe to hide.
Model Comparison (A1:V22)
Feature matrix comparing this tool against the rest of the Foresight/Hemrock VC template lineup. Columns = features (Portfolio Forecast, Fund Performance Metrics, Individual Investment Evaluation, etc.). For this tool (R17), only Individual Investment Evaluation is true. Informational. Safe to hide.
Changelog (B1:D11)
4 entries. v1.0.0 (2023-02-08) → v1.1.2 (2024-03-29). Notable: v1.1.1 added the Simple Venture Valuation sheet; v1.1.2 refined its liquidation preferences and breakpoints. Version history — keep hidden, not deleted.
Key characteristics
- Dual-mode: full round-chain model on Venture Valuation, single-page breakpoint evaluator on Simple Venture Valuation. Pick one.
- Perspective: models one investor's returns through one average investment, not a whole fund. For fund-level math use the Venture Capital Model or Fund Economics Tool.
- Requires iterative calculations on the full sheet (R56 option pool is circular). Notice at E2: "Seeing a #REF error from a circular reference? Turn on iterative calculations."
- Waterfall assumptions: 1x non-participating preferred, latest round senior, no participation, no caps, no anti-dilution. For participating preferred or anti-dilution, use the Cap Table & Exit Waterfall Tool instead.
- Graduation chain (Venture Valuation R62-R68) is the core insight: probability of reaching each stage is multiplicative, so Seed-entry expected value weights heavily on early-stage failure.
- Simple sheet uses shortcuts instead of round-by-round follow-on: cumulative dilution from others (R21) and options (R22) are single percentages. Not exact, but fast.
Notes
- Row 38 (
Total Investment Round) on the full sheet is formula-driven from Premoney (R40) with a hard-coded 20%/80% split. Users wanting a specific $ round size must overwrite the formula. Consider flagging in primer. - Simple Venture Valuation R39 uses
xirr(D42:D44, E42:E44)— if the user adds more follow-on investments, the XIRR range does not auto-expand. The note on R39 flags this.