Know Your Worth: Set a Smart Valuation (Without Guessing)

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How much is your startup worth? Can you defend that number? In this session, we’ll break down how early-stage startups are valued (even without revenue), the difference between pre-money and post-money, and how to confidently justify your ask to investors.

💰 Why This Matters

How much is your startup worth—and can you defend that number?When it comes to raising capital, your valuation is more than just a number—it’s a reflection of your business potential, your traction, and your credibility. At the Nashville Entrepreneur Center, we’re here to help you approach valuation with strategy, not guesswork.

📊 Free Session: How Startups Are Valued

This first half of the session is free and open to the public and will guide you through how early-stage companies—even pre-revenue ones—are valued.

You’ll gain clarity on:

• The difference between pre-money and post-money valuation
• How traction, team, market size, and model influence your valuation
• What investors look for in early-stage companies
• How to avoid common pitfalls when negotiating valuation

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Best for:Founders preparing for a raise, building financial models, or entering pitch competitions who want to strengthen their investor readiness.

About the Speakers:

Haley (Zap) Zapolski:is a capital connector and angel investor at the heart of Nashville’s startup ecosystem. Through her role at the Nashville Entrepreneur Center, personal platform Zap ⚡️, and investor work with The Lighthouse, she provides essential support—connecting founders to capital, educational resources, networks, and a like-minded community. She's a public champion and active builder of Nashville's tech future.

J. Tod Fetherling:is a veteran leader (30+ years) in healthcare, data, technology, and analytics, recognized for pioneering digital innovations in health—like one of the first public health portals and the internet’s first live-streamed birth in the late ’90s—while serving in senior roles at HCA Healthcare and America’s Health Network ​​

Wayne Brown: I am excited to help CFOs, owners and investors create and unlock value. We are seamless about supporting your financial operations and M&A activity.

I have more than 20 years of financial advisory, valuation and expert witness testimony experience. In addition to leading health care and dental valuations, I have worked across a broad range of industries including services, insurance, consumer goods, technology, manufacturing, and food manufacturing and processing. CLA email: wayne.brown@claconnect.com, www.linkedin.com/in/visitwaynebrown

🧮 Hands-On Workshop: Build & Defend Your Valuation

The second half is an interactive workshop where you’ll work alongside NEC capital experts to model your startup’s valuation—and understand how it impacts your ownership and future fundraising.

Workshop Focus:

Workshop materials are a calibrated valuation worksheet provided by CLA. Founders will download the sheet and adjust the numbers to form a pre-revenue valuation that makes sense for investors and the future growth of the company.

Make sure to bring a laptop to participate in the workshop.

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This session is:✅ Free for NEC Members💵 $49 for Non-Members

No financial background required—just come ready to learn and apply.

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Thank you to our Community Partners,Comstasis, and Metro Nashville for helping to make this event possible. And a huge shoutout to the EC's Growth Partners for their support of our founder community:Baker Donelson,CLA,Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce,Pinnacle Financial PartnersandRJ Young.

Parking: Parking is available in the red brick garage located behind the trolley barns (entrance on 15 Lea Avenue); please come inside to the front desk to scan the QR code for validation up to 3 hours.