Evaluate startups with confidence.
Revenues are uncertain, and the cap tables can be tricky.
Learn how to model the business despite all this.
Revenues are uncertain, and the cap tables can be tricky.
Learn how to model the business despite all this.
Learn how to perform valuations without detailed 10-Ks and audited financials.
Don’t cut corners - build off a properly structured financial model first.
Handle any startup firm, whether it’s in tech, consumer products, or something else.
… or anyone on the buy-side of a private market transaction.
Build an integrated, self-balancing 3-statement model.
Round it out with a debt sweep and interest schedule to project run-rate profitability over the next 5 years.
DCF for a private company: yea or nay?
Approach Terminal Value two different ways, picking up industry-standard guidelines on growth rate assumptions along the way.
Discuss the complex nuances behind adjusting traditional DCF and WACC analysis in the absence of relevant data.
Then, model out waterfalls for early stage investment securities. How can investors protect their downside while satisfying their upside needs?
*Only available for corporate training.
Our approach is to teach you how to fish, rather than give you a fish.
We don't give a one-way lecture where you memorize every cell and formula.
We nudge you toward uncovering answers on your own by leading with the right questions.
The end result? Longer-term knowledge retention that will last an entire career.
I really felt that WST was world class and would recommend it to anyone starting a new career on Wall Street. In particular, the strength of the program is that it concentrates on how analytical work is actually conducted in real life rather than the academic approach of some other competitors.
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Our Self-Study platform lets you learn at your own pace via instructor-led videos.
Jump start your financial analysis skills and start learning today!
All prices are in USD and denote six (6) months of access. Terms apply.
This course involves modeling out early stage investment securities’ waterfalls. When investing in earlier stage companies, whether start-up, growth or mezzanine stage investing, there is a fine balance between incentivizing the newest round of investors injecting capital and providing enough returns for earlier round investors, while still motivating management to strive for mutual alignment of economic interests. Investors desire downside protection while craving equity upside. Thus, the participating preference securities evolved from a blend of common stock with equity upside & voting rights to debt with accruing interest and priority of liquidation. In this course, learn how to structure, and model out such hybrid securities commonly used in VC and earlier stage investing.
Please note that this is a financial modeling class, not a legal class.
Build a fully integrated 5-year financial statement projection model by projecting the Income Statement, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow Statement, the Debt Sweep to balance model and Interest Schedule. This course will allow you to have a complete financial model projecting run-rate profitability, on which you can easily layer valuation and merger models.
3.5 hours / 5 hours
Build upon completed core model and layer on valuation analysis. Construct DCF valuation model, detailed revenue segment build-up, project more precise depreciation schedule, calculate credit & leverage statistics and ratios, construct a reference range and football field summary valuation. This Enhancements course will allow you to have a much more detailed stand-alone financial model and valuation model!
3 hours / 4 hours
Further enhance core integrated financial model by building a detailed tax schedule incorporating NOLs (Net Operating Losses), Section 382 limitations on NOL usage and differences between book and tax depreciation. Dive deep into re-calculating depreciation for tax purposes based on accelerated depreciation - MACRS (Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System) in the US. Incorporate and flow the accelerated tax depreciation into the larger tax schedule to account for differences in GAAP Pre-Tax Income and Taxable Income. Finish up with a quick Residual Income analysis and EVA (Economic Value Added) analysis, which complements our Enhancements Part I course.
3 hours / 4 hours
Learn how to build detailed revenue and segment build-ups into your larger financial model by quantifying the drivers of growth. Many financial projection models are based off simple revenue growth rate and expense margin assumptions, resulting in reduced precision in the projection model. This course teaches various approaches to true, bottoms-up, fundamental analysis for both publicly trade and listed companies as well as private companies or entities in which you have additional detail. We start by understanding the logic of channel checks and building the case for growth rates based on qualitative analysis and comprehension of industry- and company-specific drivers of growth. We then turn around and quantify our qualitative analysis by incorporating into our financial model on a business and operating segment basis. The results of the build-up analysis rolls into the Income Statement from your core integrated financial projection model. In addition, layer on sensitivity and scenario analysis to easily toggle through various cases, including base (management) case, upside and downside cases.
4 hours / 5 hours
Learn how corporations are valued and the major analytical tools that are used. Go beyond academic theory to real-world methods as used by professionals; includes a crucial primer to Corporate Finance and its non-theoretical application. Apply learning objectives and goals immediately by analyzing a $6 billion+ transaction. Topics covered include: (i) how to value a company (trading comps, deal comps, DCF, LBO, break-up and asset valuation); (ii) importance of Enterprise Value, EBITDA, capital structure, leverage and WACC; (iii) analyze valuation multiples and ratios; why are PE ratios sub-optimal as a valuation metric?; (iv) practical, non-theoretical application of introduction to corporate finance.
2 hours / 2.5 hours
Build a basic, quick and dirty, back-of-the-envelope trading comps analysis (analysis of selected publicly traded companies). This course will allow you to quickly construct a relative valuation analysis and serves as a critical basis for our Complex Trading Comps Analysis course.
1 hour / 1.5 hours
Relative Valuation Basics is an extracted section from Advanced Financial & Valuation Modeling - Enhancements course module. In particular, we construct the reference range and football field analysis to complete the valuation picture. We recommend taking the following courses in order to gain the holistic relative valuation view:
0.5 hour / 1 hour
Build a detailed, thorough trading comps analysis (analysis of selected publicly traded companies) and learn how to properly construct a relative valuation analysis the correct way as well as how to normalize financials for extraordinary items, non-recurring and restructuring charges. This course itself isn’t terribly complex or difficult, but is very tedious, time consuming and at times frustrating as it requires a great deal of patience, attention to detail and reading comprehension. Hence, the first four letters of the title “analyst” ring true - perfection is required to get the right numbers.
4.5 hours / 6.5 hours
Build a deal comps analysis (analysis of selected acquisitions), similar to trading comps analysis, but from an acquisition context using historical transaction data instead of current market valuation data. This course will allow you to properly construct a deal comps analysis the correct way, uncovering some of the nuances related to calculating transaction value and purchase price. This course is not a complex course and in fact, is a relative breeze compared with our Complex Trading Comps course, but builds upon the concepts in the latter course.
1.5 hours / 2 hours
This course builds upon our basic Corporate Valuation course and introduces the complex nuances associated with analyzing and valuing private companies. We dive deep into the details and concepts deeply imbedded with valuation of large publicly traded and listed companies and take it to next level by applying it to companies and regions with very sparse publicly available data. Learn nuances of adjusting for DCF valuation, WACC analysis when no data exists, how to select and adjust peer comparables when no “good comp” exists. While there is certainly no magic bullet to the tough questions and lack of information, there are techniques and best practices to get us as close as possible.
3 hours / 4 hours
Learn how to build detailed revenue and segment build-ups into your larger financial model by quantifying the drivers of growth. Many financial projection models are based off simple revenue growth rate and expense margin assumptions, resulting in reduced precision in the projection model. This course teaches various approaches to true, bottoms-up, fundamental analysis for both publicly trade and listed companies as well as private companies or entities in which you have additional detail. We start by understanding the logic of channel checks and building the case for growth rates based on qualitative analysis and comprehension of industry- and company-specific drivers of growth. We then turn around and quantify our qualitative analysis by incorporating into our financial model on a business and operating segment basis. The results of the build-up analysis rolls into the Income Statement from your core integrated financial projection model. In addition, layer on sensitivity and scenario analysis to easily toggle through various cases, including base (management) case, upside and downside cases.
4 hours / 5 hours
Pro Forma financial statements are a tool to recast financial results in a manner that is more representative of future performance and to remove the effects of private ownership. Pro Forma financial statements have one or more assumptions or hypothetical conditions built into the data and are often used to develop core earnings capacity (quality of earnings) when the objective is to value a company for sale to a third party or for internal perpetuation. The goal is to examine a sampling of the most common types of Pro Forma adjustments most often seen when valuing closely-held entities. Similar to analyzing one-time adjustments for public companies, the adjustments can affect both revenues and expenses, increasing or decreasing either one. However, private company pro form adjustments require a much more detailed analysis of each expense line to adjust for the effects of private ownership.
1.5 hours / 2.5 hours
This Merger Modeling - Earnout Discussion module builds upon our M&A Deal Structuring and Merger Modeling Basics course by reconciling differences that arise in private middle-market transactions in which a buyer wants to be rewarded for future growth and a seller is only willing to pay for growth that has been achieved. But, the seller reckons - “why should I sell when I believe I can achieve greater growth and then sell for an even larger valuation at that future point”. The main tool to bridge this gap is for the seller to put his money where his mouth is - if you say you can achieve $1 billion of revenue, then prove it - one should be willing to accept deferred, contingent payments for such future growth that has yet to be realized. In this add-on module, we explore different ways to analyze and structure earnouts.
1 hour / 1.5 hours