I have posted on startup valuations a couple of times.  First on October 12, 2012 and then on November 28, 2012.  On June 27th Fred Wilson wrote a post called Valuation vs. Ownership.  Great post.

Here is the good news:  if you read my prior posts and Fred’s post, I think you are about 99% of the way there in solving any mystery behind startup valuations for early stage financing rounds (i.e., Series Seed or Series A).   Yes, it is more art than science (I still have never used any sort of DCF for a valuation at this stage), but the art is really not that mysterious.  Fred’s post hits some really interesting points on how valuations can actually impair limited partners (those investing in the VC fund) more than general partners (those running the fund).

Enjoy solving the mystery.