As shareholders of startups, we all know how it’s supposed to work. We make an investment. The company grows. The company is acquired or goes public. Our initial investment yields a stupendous return.
Let’s do the math! Suppose we invest $25K at a $2.5M valuation. We own 1% of the company. A few years later, it is sold for $100M. We get 1% of $100M = $1M; a remarkable 40x our initial investment. Yay!
But, what if the company is sold for only $1M? Then, we get just 1% of $1M = $10K. Not so good, but it’s not like the math is any different. Right?
Well, that depends. Were there any liquidation preferences?
Keeping Busy 