The site Startup.info published an interview with the Founder-CEO of equitest, titled: "Equitest, the Leading Business Valuation Software for Startups".

Here are the main points of the article.

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We talked to Tamir Levy, Ph.D., an entrepreneur, business consultant, and actuary, the founder-CEO of Equitest. Equitest is an Israeli fintech startup developing an online valuation platform that enables startups to manage and enhance their value with tools like business valuation calculator, business valuation software, pitch deck creator, and cap table management software.

Here is what he had to say.

Tell us about you, your career, and how you founded Equitest?

Tamir Levy : I own a finance Ph.D. and had a prosperous academic career, in which I taught at various academic institutions. In 2009 I also started working on ventures. That year, I joined Yael Milikovsky-Levy, an Israeli lawyer specializing in tort, family, and continuing power of attorney.

She realized that the tort field requires a lot of calculations. Therefore dedicated tools are needed. Together we had established Nezikist – a successful startup for lawyers in the area of torts in Israel. We have developed several unique tools that can help lawyers quickly maximize compensation to their customers.

Three years later, I started consulting for companies in actuary, economics, and finance. Among other things, we produced business valuation reports.

Very quickly, I found that the valuation process is standard and systematic. In creating a business valuation report, one needs to estimate two main factors – the company’s growth rate and the company’s risk.

As a result, I decided to set up a platform that would allow entrepreneurs to assess a company’s value without prior knowledge quickly. The result was Equitest.

In establishing Equitest, I have combined the professional knowledge of business valuation with the technology we have developed in Nezikist. The ability to connect both creates Equitest a relative advantage in the business valuation industry.

How does Equitest innovate?

Tamir Levy : Today Equitest is a game-changer in the business valuation industry. Equitest is a one-stop-shop for evaluating and enhancing the firm’s value. It includes all the needed tools – business valuation software, pitch deck creator, cap tables, and much more.

But it wasn’t like that from the beginning. When I started the project, I wanted to create a simple business valuation software. In several months my team had created an excellent product. A valuation platform that lets anyone, even the one without prior knowledge, evaluating any company in a matter of minutes through four simple steps:

1.) Answer general questions regarding the company

2.) Insert the relevant financial data

3.) Get all the explanations you need

4.) Download the full valuation report

The reactions of the first users taught us that the platform could be improved. We understood that entrepreneurs want to generate value. They do this by setting up startups and companies, building products. But do they know what value is? How is it measured, and how is the value of the company maximized?

We, therefore, added a pitch deck creator, a cap-table management software, investment proposal letters, Early-Stage Firm Value Enhancer, and more.

In addition, we create a knowledge base for startups to help them learn everything about valuation, such as how can one maximize a startup’s value?

Today Equitest helps solve most of the startup’s problems with valuation management and value enhancement.

How does Equitest help Startups?

Tamir Levy : When we developed the Equitest, we thought it could help startups improve their recruitment ability. That is, raise more significant amounts of money for the same portion of the stock. We find that the use of the platform can help startups increase the amount they raise by 10-15%.

How does the valuation process for startups differ from the valuation of other companies?

Tamir Levy : There is a big difference between a startup’s valuation and the valuation of a company that has already operated for several years. An existing company has generated sales and profits for its shareholders. A startup, on the other hand, is a new entity. As a result, a startup’s valuation process relative to the existing company will be based on different foundations. When evaluating a startup, qualitative factors are considered, such as the team’s quality. In contrast, the evaluation of a stable company is based on quantitative factors, such as sales growth.

As a result, different methods will be used to evaluate startups than stable or growing companies.

For this reason, we have developed a business valuation platform that is suitable for companies at different stages of their life cycle.

Another significant difference is that the startup will need the valuation report for fundraising and value enhancement. Therefore, the startup must use complementary tools, like pitch deck creator and Cap-Table management software. Our valuation platform includes a solution for those needs as well.

Does Equitest also offer professional services?

Tamir Levy : We are aware that not all startups want to independently carry out the evaluation process. For this group, we offer a professional solution, as well, that includes services such as company valuation, pitch deck creation, or any other business consulting."