By: Bill Payne, Frontier Angels

Entrepreneurs seem genuinely surprised to find that investors in Peoria or Little Rock are not willing to invest in startup companies at Silicon Valley prices.  After all, they just read in TechCrunch that investors funded a company similar to theirs at an $8 million pre-money valuation! 

The valuation of startup companies shouldn’t be impacted by location, should they?  Guess again!  A newly-constructed 3500 square foot home with a pool near New York City is priced well above a similar home in Fargo, right?  Well, the same differentials are true for startup companies.  In fact, the issues that influence residential real estate pricing are quite analogous to those which determine the price investors will pay for ownership in startup companies.

By: Jeff Solomon, CPA, CVA, Managing Partner, Katz Nannis + Solomon, PC

Early stage investors are often asked to sit on boards, and many sets of investment terms require that outside investors sit on the key board committees.  But what’s involved in being on an Audit Committee, and how do you do it right?  Let’s take a look at examples of an effective working relationship with the auditor and the types of questions you should be asking your auditors when you meet to add value to the governance process and to the company you represent: