Equidam asks why you are running a valuation and how you relate to the company. Neither answer is an input to the five methods, so a different purpose or relationship does not change your valuation range or method weights. The purpose you pick on the Valuation progress page decides which next-step link we show. Both answers give our support team context and appear in the Excel and Markdown exports. You can change them at any time in the Questionnaire.
Does my answer change my valuation?
No. The purpose and relationship questions do not feed the Scorecard method, the Checklist method, the VC method or either DCF method. The Questionnaire states above them that they don't affect your valuation. Recording a purpose on the Valuation progress page does not recalculate anything either.
Where are the two questions asked?
Both questions sit in the last block of the Questionnaire, under the heading Just three more questions. The third question in that block asks whether your company's equity is traded on a blockchain.
Question A: What is your relationship with the company being valued?
Question B: The purpose of my valuation is:
The options appear in a random order on each page load, so their position does not sway your choice. Your saved answer stays selected.
A shorter version of the purpose question also appears on the Valuation progress page, under your estimate: What are you using this valuation for? Some Equidam emails carry one-click links that record the same answer.
What are the options?
Question A, your relationship with the company:
Founder
Employee from the finance/administration department
Employee from another department
External consultant and/or advisor
Current shareholder with no operating role
Interested investor/buyer
Other
Question B, the purpose of your valuation:
Fundraising
Selling/merging the company
Selling part of the shares
Planning and strategy
Shareholders reporting
Tax reporting and compliance
Other
Employee equity and stock option plans (ESOP)
The Valuation progress page offers 6 shorter choices. If question B is still empty, your choice fills it in:
Fundraising and Investor conversation become Fundraising.
Internal planning becomes Planning and strategy.
Equity and dilution becomes Employee equity and stock option plans (ESOP).
Selling the company becomes Selling/merging the company.
Something else becomes Other.
If you already answered question B in the Questionnaire, a choice on the Valuation progress page never overwrites it.
What does the answer change?
The purpose you pick on the Valuation progress page sets the link shown after you answer. If you chose Fundraising, Investor conversation, Internal planning or Selling the company, the link first sends you to the Questionnaire if it is incomplete, then to Financials if they are incomplete. Equity and dilution always links to SAFEs & Ownership, and Something else opens a support message to book a free call.
Your answers are also shared with our support team's messaging tool, so the team has that context when you contact us. We use the purpose to decide which Equidam emails are relevant to you. We also use the answers, as aggregate counts across all companies, for country-level statistics.
What does the ESOP option do?
Selecting Employee equity and stock option plans (ESOP) records your purpose like any other option. It does not open a 409A or EMI valuation request; the 409A or EMI article below explains how to request one. To model an option pool, use SAFEs & Ownership.
Limits
The questions are available on every plan, including the free plan.
The chips on the Valuation progress page show only while we have no purpose on record for the company. Once you answer there or in the Questionnaire, they disappear, and you cannot re-answer there.
To change either answer later, edit it in the Questionnaire and save.
The PDF valuation report does not print either answer. The Excel and Markdown exports list both under the Reason for Valuation group of the full questionnaire, as they stood when you generated the report.
The exports come with a generated report. Older reports may not include this section, or may not offer the Excel and Markdown files at all; generate a new report to see it.
If a chip does not save, the page shows "That didn't save. Try again." and you can pick again.
Common questions
I picked the wrong purpose. Do I need to redo my valuation?
No. Your range and method weights stay the same. Change the answer in the Questionnaire so your records and exports show the purpose you intended.
Does choosing Interested investor/buyer or External consultant and/or advisor change the result?
No. The five methods do not use your relationship to the company. It tells our support team who they are talking to.
Why did the purpose chips disappear from the Valuation progress page?
They show only until we have a purpose on record. Answering question B in the Questionnaire, or picking a chip earlier, hides them.