Valuing and assessing a promising idea or a startup is a common conundrum for early-stage investors. For startups with little or no revenue and less-than-certain futures, the job of assessment is tricky. For mature, publicly listed businesses with steady revenues and earnings, normally it's a matter of valuing them as a multiple of their earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) or based on other industry-specific multiples. But it seems like a nightmare to value a pre-revenue company or a new venture with little proven record.
