The valuation game : an empirical study of Portuguese startups’ success factors

• Autor(a) principal: Cardoso, Maria Inês Mestre
• Data de Publicação: 2023
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.14/41461
• topic: Venture capital; Valuation; Pre­money valuation; Startup valuation; Investment criteria; Decision­making process; Screening criteria; Capital de risco; Avaliação; Avaliação pre­money; Avaliação de startup; Critérios de investimento; Processo de tomada de decisão; Critérios de triagem; Domínio/Área Científica::Ciências Sociais::Economia e Gestão

Valuing startups is a complex task, as these companies often have limited financial history and uncertain future cash flows. In addition, startups are typically high­risk ventures, requiring valuation techniques that consider this higher level of risk. In this study, I examine the impact of some factors in the valuation of Portuguese startups. To do this, I developed a multiple linear regression model and created nine hypotheses on the effects of each variable on valuations. The study is based on a Portuguese startup sample and uses multiple regression analysis to test the hypotheses. The study results provide insights into the factors most important in the valuation of Portuguese startups and can inform the development of more effective valuation techniques for these companies. The factors that were found to increase valuations included having a B2B focus, having a headquarters outside of Portugal, having a SaaS business model, having registered patents, and being a Fintech company. It was also found that having a female founder or attending a top university was associated with higher valuations. However, having prior startup experience or investing in R&D did not positively impact valuations.