Black Friday Sale! 50% Off All Access

The Art and Science of Company Valuations (Infographic) See a visual explanation of how young companies are valued, in some cases before they're even making money.

By Catherine Clifford

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Shutterstock

Instagram, Spotify, Square, Pinterest, and the list goes on: It's starting to seem like billion-dollar startup valuations are a dime a dozen. But how does a young company get a billion-dollar price tag?

The below infographic by San Francisco-based startup organization Funders and Founders details how a startup is typically valued. A valuation is simply an estimated value of a company and is often based on assumptions about a startup's potential. It's not an exact science, explains Anna Vital, the author of the infographic in a blog post. A company's valuation is important because it can determine the percentage of the company that should be given to an investor in exchange for cash, Vital says.

Related: How Instagram Went From Idea to $1 Billion in Less Than Two Years

Click to Enlarge+

How to Jumpstart Your Social-Media Marketing During the Summer Slowdown

Catherine Clifford

Senior Entrepreneurship Writer at CNBC

Catherine Clifford is senior entrepreneurship writer at CNBC. She was formerly a senior writer at Entrepreneur.com, the small business reporter at CNNMoney and an assistant in the New York bureau for CNN. Clifford attended Columbia University where she earned a bachelor's degree. She lives in Brooklyn, N.Y. You can follow her on Twitter at @CatClifford.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Living

These Are the 'Wealthiest and Safest' Places to Retire in the U.S. None of Them Are in Florida — and 2 States Swept the List.

More than 338,000 U.S. residents retired to a new home in 2023 — a 44% increase year over year.

Business News

These Are the Highest Paying Jobs Available Without a College Degree, According to a New Report

The median salaries for these positions go up to $102,420 per year.

Starting a Business

This Sommelier's 'Laughable' Idea Is Disrupting the $385 Billion Wine Industry

Kristin Olszewski, founder of Nomadica, is bringing premium wine to aluminum cans, and major retailers are taking note.

Starting a Business

He Started a Business That Surpassed $100 Million in Under 3 Years: 'Consistent Revenue Right Out of the Gate'

Ryan Close, founder and CEO of Bartesian, had run a few small businesses on the side — but none of them excited him as much as the idea for a home cocktail machine.

Business News

DOGE Leaders Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy Say Mandating In-Person Work Would Make 'a Wave' of Federal Employees Quit

The two published an op-ed outlining their goals for their new department, including workforce reductions.

Business News

Is Reddit Down Again? Tens of Thousands of Users Are Reporting Issues With the Platform.

A Reddit outage has been occurring off-and-on for two days.