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by firasd 3915 days ago
Yes but anytime you are engineering “financials” instead of engineering sales and customer satisfaction you are headed down a path that warps things. In the case of unicorn valuations it’s your term sheet: investors who are getting in at high symbolic valuations are asking for special provisions to protect downside that you wouldn’t otherwise grant them.
2 comments

All of those (eg. sales and psychology) are interrelated. For example, say you're an enterprise SaaS company. Saying, "We have a $1B valuation and aren't going anywhere" actually carries meaningful psychological weight during the sales process -- weight which could be the difference between winning or losing out to a competitor. In that regard, it may matter...
That valuation (perversely) likely affects hiring as well.