Methodology for assessing the market value of venture capital companies

The article analyses the approaches and methods of valuation of venture capital companies (start-ups) in foreign and domestic valuation practice at different stages of the life cycle of companies. The main difficulties in assessing the market value of startups are the lack of financial indicators (revenues, EBITDA) to which classical multipliers could be applied in a comparative approach, as well as the problem of reasonable and reliable prediction of company cash flows in high uncertainty. In this regard, the valuation practice has developed many valuation methods which are certain modifications of traditional valuation approaches used to determine the market value of mature companies. Analytical work was carried out to investigate various valuation methods, identifying their weaknesses and strengths, as well as an analysis of their applicability at different stages of the life cycle of venture capital companies. The main conclusion is that there is currently no ideal and universal method for valuing a venture capital company in the scientific literature and valuation practice. As the venture capital company develops, valuation methods shift from qualitative to more traditional quantitative methods.