Making People Think: The ‘Changing Landscape of Valuation’

Emmet McGonagle

Jun 20, 2022

Grant Lawrence, president of Valhalla Angels Kelowna and co-president of Valhalla Angels Vancouver, has predicted that valuation will involve “tougher decisions and tougher due diligence” moving forward, largely due to a fear of “crashing and burning” amid unrealistic expectations from entrepreneurs.


Speaking of the “changing landscape of valuation”, Grant maintains that companies are presenting higher valuations than expected, with entrepreneurs doubling their valuations in short periods of time in a bid to attract investors.


“What validates that you're not just claiming your value as 2X?” Grant inquired, signaling that “sophisticated angels  - not the novices that say 'oh, there's a shiny bright thing,  I'll put some money into it'”, will be putting more effort into protecting their money.


Grant continued: “We're gonna see more people saying: 'I want to be the first money out, at least get my capital back.’”


“If you crash and burn here because you're not meeting expectations and now you have a down round, that's the fear - you're going to have early money at a higher valuation, and then you're going to have a down round because you can't meet the expectations to keep that valuation going,” he concluded.


Do you have a question about angel investing? Get in touch with Valhalla Private Capital via our contact page.

Canadian Unemployment Grows in ‘Labour-Constrained Economy’

By Emmet McGonagle • 01 Dec, 2023
Canada’s unemployment rate has trended higher once again this month, according to the latest iteration of Statistics Canada’s November labour force survey.

Workers Call for Pay Transparency

By Emmet McGonagle • 29 Nov, 2023
More than half of workers believe that disclosing worker compensation details on job postings will lead to better equality in pay, according to the latest iteration of LinkedIn’s Workforce Confidence Index . The index - which is based on a survey of 3,302 members in Canada between June and September 2023 - found that 52% of people asked felt that people sharing their pay information (including salary and bonus) would improve workplace equality, compared to 48% in 2022. This number varies between different generations, with younger Canadians more likely to express support for pay transparency (73%), followed by 69% of Millennials, 46% of Gen X and 44% of Baby Boomers. However, 37% of those surveyed remarked that they felt anxious about sharing their pay information - a 2% rise from the year prior. Likewise, just under half (49%) said they felt well compensated for the work they do while 74% expressed that the pay gap between CEOs and employees had become too wide. The people of LinkedIn have come out in their dozens to give their two cents on the topic, with Adrienne Tom , executive resume writer for executives, saying: “ I'm all for salary transparency, so long as the number is clear and legit. Some postings list salary ranges so wide that the actual salary number isn't entirely clear, leaving job seekers confused.” “If you have a manager who is not advocating for the pay gap, you are working for the wrong manager,” remarked career strategist Sweta Regmi , while noting that women in Ontario earn an average of $0.87 for every dollar earned by men. On the topic, she added: “Salary ranges with job postings can help close the gender pay gap while allowing companies to find qualified candidates more quickly.” Do you have a question about angel investing? Get in touch with Valhalla Private Capital via our contact page .
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