Valuation is assessing the value of a company and, since a start-up often faces binary events, things that may or may not happen in the future, there is a lot of room for assumptions and perceptions. Furthermore, start-ups often happen to be young businesses in initial phases, so usually there is little to no historic data available that could help on the financial analysis of the company. Thus, assessing the value of an early stage company does not seem trivial at all, mainly due to the uncertain growth potential, limited financial data and few comparable listed companies or precedent transactions. The aim of this research paper is to highlight start-ups’ general characteristics, including life stages and financing methods, assess which valuation methods are most suitable and come up with a valuation of a real investment opportunity through a case study.

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