Your financial model and valuation, built to survive investor scrutiny.
A bottoms-up 3-year financial model, an advisory DCF + comparables startup valuation, a KPI dashboard with every metric investors ask for, and the complete financial data room — all prepared before the first investor meeting.
Get started — ₹29,999 →₹29,999
Fixed price · one Lekha invoice
About this service
What is startup financial model & valuation?
The gap between a startup that closes a round in 10 weeks and one that takes 6 months is often the quality of the financial preparation. Investors receive identical pitches from companies with identical products — the ones that close faster are the ones that can answer financial questions immediately, with well-structured documents that don't create new questions. Lekha builds the financial infrastructure for your fundraise: the model, the metrics, and the data room financial section.
What you get
Everything included in this service
3-year financial model
A bottoms-up monthly model with: revenue drivers (by customer segment and acquisition channel), headcount plan tied to your org plan, full P&L (revenue, COGS, gross profit, operating expenses, EBITDA), and 24-month cash flow. Documented assumptions for every driver — so you can answer every investor question with the model, not gut feel.
KPI dashboard (historical + forward)
A clean dashboard covering the last 12 months of actual metrics and the forward projection: MRR waterfall, NRR, logo churn, CAC by channel, LTV, CAC payback, burn multiple, and runway. The format institutional investors expect to see.
Scenario analysis
Three scenarios (base, bull, bear) modelled on the same structure — showing investors you've stress-tested the plan and know what happens if growth is 30% below base.
Financial data room documents
Organised financial section for your data room: historical MIS, financial model, KPI dashboard, bank statements, and cap table — structured in the folder format investors' diligence teams navigate.
Investor financial Q&A preparation
A one-page 'anticipated Q&A' document covering the top 10 financial questions investors ask — with your specific answers, drawn from the model. So you never answer 'let me get back to you' in a diligence call.
Advisory startup valuation report
A structured DCF + comparable transaction valuation of your startup — giving you a documented, defensible pre-money range before investors propose their own number. Covers methodology, key assumptions, sensitivity table, and a one-page investor negotiation brief. (Note: for statutory Rule 11UA / Section 56(2)(viib) compliance, a SEBI-registered merchant banker certificate is also required — Lekha coordinates the referral as part of this engagement.)
Who it's for
Is this right for you?
- ✓
Startups starting a seed or Series A fundraise in the next 3–6 months
- ✓
Founders who have a pitch deck but no financial model, or a model that can't survive investor questions
- ✓
Companies that have been through an investor process but lost deals at the financial diligence stage
- ✓
Startups whose financial data is spread across Excel, bank statements, and the CA's records — with no investor-ready presentation
Process
How it works
Financial discovery call
A structured 60-minute call covering: current revenue and growth trajectory, unit economics (what you know so far), hiring plan, and the story you want the financial model to tell. This shapes the model structure.
Historical data collection
Lekha collects: last 12 months of MIS or management accounts, monthly revenue breakdowns, headcount and salary data, any existing metrics tracking, and bank statements. We work with whatever level of organisation exists.
Model build (5–7 days)
Lekha builds the 3-year model from scratch or rebuilds your existing model — restructuring it for investor presentation. Driver assumptions are built in, all three scenarios developed, and the model is tested for internal consistency.
Review and calibration
A 45-minute review call where Lekha walks you through the model. You validate the assumptions, challenge the numbers, and ensure the model reflects your business accurately. Typically 1–2 rounds of revision.
Data room and Q&A prep
Financial data room documents organised. KPI dashboard finalised. Investor Q&A document prepared. You receive everything in a shareable Google Drive folder structure ready for data room access.
Questions
Frequently asked
How should I present the financial model to investors?
Never send the model in the first meeting. The sequence: pitch deck (first meeting) → data room access including model (after signed NDA or strong verbal interest) → model walkthrough call (during diligence). When sharing the model, provide a 'presentation view' tab that shows the key outputs clearly, with the detailed driver sheets available for investors who want to dig in. Investors who request the model without context often don't engage with it — the walkthrough call is where the financial story is told.
What financial model structure do Indian VCs expect?
Bottoms-up revenue model (customer count × ARPU or number of transactions × revenue per transaction), not top-down (TAM × market share). Monthly granularity for months 1–24, quarterly for year 3. A headcount plan tied to the org chart. A cash flow statement showing monthly runway. Documented assumptions with sources. Scenario analysis (at minimum base and bear case). The model should be in Excel or Google Sheets — purpose-built tools like Finmark or Mosaic are for operational finance, not investor presentations.
What is the difference between a financial model and a business plan?
A business plan is a narrative document describing the business strategy. A financial model is a quantitative representation of the financial consequences of that strategy. Investors want both — but they don't use them at the same stage. The business plan narrative is in the pitch deck (first meeting). The financial model is for diligence (weeks 4–8 of a fundraise). Conflating them — a 40-page document with narrative and tables mixed — serves neither purpose well.
Does the model need to show profitability within the projection period?
Not necessarily, but it must show a credible path. A Series A investor funding a 5-year journey to profitability is acceptable if: the trajectory is clear (margin improving, burn reducing as revenue scales), there's a defined trigger point where the business becomes profitable (e.g., 'we break even at ₹X ARR which we model hitting in month 34'), and the path doesn't require an implausibly large further fundraise to get there.
What valuation method does Lekha use in the startup valuation report?
Two methods run in parallel: (1) DCF — a 5-year discounted cash flow model with a documented discount rate (typically 25–35% for early-stage Indian startups) and terminal value; and (2) Comparable transaction analysis — 8–12 recent Indian funding rounds at the same stage and sector, yielding an ARR or revenue multiple range. The report presents both outputs, a reconciled valuation range, and a sensitivity table. This is an advisory opinion, not the statutory merchant banker certificate required for Rule 11UA compliance.
Can the advisory valuation be used for Angel Tax / Section 56(2)(viib) compliance?
No. The advisory valuation establishes a defensible range for negotiation and planning. For Section 56(2)(viib) compliance, you also need a certificate signed by a SEBI-registered merchant banker under Rule 11UA — a separate regulatory document. Lekha coordinates this referral as part of the engagement so the advisory and statutory valuations are handled together, without you managing two separate vendor relationships.
How does the valuation interact with the financial model?
The DCF valuation is derived directly from the financial model — the same revenue projections, margin assumptions, and growth trajectory feed into both the investor presentation and the valuation. The model and valuation are therefore internally consistent: an investor who questions the financial model is simultaneously questioning the valuation, and you can defend both from the same documented assumption set.
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