Startup Valuation Calculator
Get an honest pre-money valuation range for your stage and traction, before the investor anchors first.
1. Sound idea
$250,0002. Prototype
$250,0003. Quality team
$250,0004. Strategic relationships
$250,0005. Product rollout or early sales
$250,000Berkus valuation
$1,250,000
The Berkus method values a pre-revenue startup by assigning up to $500,000 of pre-money value to each of five risk factors. It is a gut-check range, not a price.
Educational estimate, not legal or financial advice.
How it works
Estimate your valuation 3 ways
Pick the tab that matches your stage: pre-revenue (Berkus), pre-seed or seed (Scorecard), or revenue (multiple).
Score or enter each factor honestly. Optimism here only hurts you in the room.
Compare the results, and use the range as your starting point.
Worked example
One pre-revenue startup, three methods
Inputs
- Idea
- $400,000
- Prototype
- $300,000
- Team
- $450,000
- Relationships
- $200,000
- Early sales
- $150,000
Result
- Berkus
- $1,500,000
- Scorecard
- about $3,510,000
- Revenue multiple ($600K ARR)
- $1.8M to $6M
Lead with the method that fits your stage, and use the range to defend your number.
How we got there
A pre-revenue startup scores $400,000 for its idea, $300,000 for its prototype, $450,000 for its team, $200,000 for strategic relationships and $150,000 for early sales. The Berkus method values it at $1,500,000.
On the Scorecard tab, starting from a $3,000,000 average, the same startup rates its team at 125%, market at 150%, competition at 80% and sales at 90%, with the other factors at 100%. That gives a valuation of about $3,510,000.
With $600,000 in annual recurring revenue, the revenue multiple tab shows $1,800,000 (3x), $3,600,000 (6x) and $6,000,000 (10x).
Reading your result
How to use your valuation range
Good sign
Two methods land close together, so your number has logic behind it.
Red flag
Pitching the top of the range with no traction to back it up.
Early valuation is a negotiation, not a calculation. These methods give you a defensible range so you can explain your number with logic instead of hope.
If your methods disagree widely, that is normal. Lead with the method that best fits your stage, and be ready to explain the factors that push you up or down.
FAQ
Startup valuation questions
Mostly on team, market size, product progress and early proof. The Berkus and Scorecard methods turn those factors into a number.
It gives up to $500,000 of value for each of 5 risk areas a startup has reduced: idea, prototype, team, strategic relationships and early sales.
It starts from the average valuation of similar startups in your region and stage, then adjusts it using 7 weighted factors.
It depends on growth, margins and market conditions. Faster growth earns higher multiples. Check recent deals in your sector, as multiples change often.
Rarely. A valuation you cannot grow into makes your next round harder. Aim for a fair number you can defend.