Valuation Explained Simply
Class is in session
Valuation Explained Simply
4 Weeks
·Cohort-based Course
Learn the art and science of valuing a business.
Class is in session
Valuation Explained Simply
4 Weeks
·Cohort-based Course
Learn the art and science of valuing a business.
Get notified about the next cohort
Hosted by
Brian Feroldi and Brian Stoffel
Demystifying finance for 600,000 people each week.
Course overview
What's a business worth?
Most investors have no clue. That's because they've never learned how to value a business.
This 4-week course will teach you the six valuation methods professional investors use to calculate a company's value. From multiples to discounted cash flow models to earnings power to yields, understanding these methods will help you make better investing decisions.
Who is this course for
01
Investors who want to learn how to value a business and make better decisions.
02
Entrepreneurs who want to learn how different types of investors think about business valuation.
03
Executives and aspiring professionals who want to gain fluency in business valuation.
What you’ll get out of this course
The Valuation Mindset Spectrum
You'll learn how different investors think about valuation and uncover your valuation style.
Understand the Business Growth Cycle
You'll master the six stages of the business growth cycle, learn to identify which phase a business is currently in, and know which valuation methods work best in each phase.
Total Addressable Market
Practice using the big-picture valuation methods favored by venture capitalists, such as total addressable market & serviceable addressable market.
Stock Multiples
Learn how to calculate common valuation multiples, such as the price-to-earnings ratio, price-to-sales ratio, and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio -- and uncover their limitations.
Shareholder Yields
Discover how earnings yield, free cash flow yield, shareholder yield, and dividend yield can be used to estimate a company's valuation range.
Value Investing In The Digital Age
Learn to look beyond the current numbers to uncover a company's hidden earnings power -- a powerful valuation technique for valuing today's dynamic growth businesses.
Discounted Cash Flow (DCF Model)
Learn the basics of the value investor's favorite tool: the discounted cash flow model. We'll cover what it is, how to use it, and its drawbacks.
Reverse Discounted Cash Flow
Learn a valuation method that flips the DCF model on its head by starting with the stock price and solving for expectations.
Valuation Pitfalls
Learn how to identify and avoid the most common valuation mistakes.
Tools of the trade
Gain access to useful tools that professional investors use to calculate valuation (most of which are free).
What people are saying
Annie Duke
Codie Sanchez
10k Diver
Brad Freeman
Helena Wu
Sunny Sharma
Course syllabus
01
Valuation Spectrum + Business Growth Cycle
We'll start with an overview of the valuation mindset spectrum and dive into the six phases of the business growth cycle.
02
Total Addressable Market
Next, we'll uncover how venture capitalists estimate a company's total addressable market, serviceable market, and current market potential.
03
Common Stock Multiples
We'll cover how to calculate the most common stock multiples, including price to sales, price to earnings, and price to book. We'll cover their meaning, how to find them, and their limitations.
04
Earnings Power Multiples
We'll learn to look beyond the current numbers to uncover a company's hidden earnings power -- a powerful valuation technique for valuing today's dynamic growth businesses.
05
Discounted Cash Flow
The mother of all valuation tools. We talk about what a DCF Model is, how it works, and practice using it in today's most well-known businesses.
06
Reverse Discounted Cash Flow
We'll practice using a valuation method that flips the DCF model on its head by starting with the stock price and solving for expectations.
07
Yields
Discover how earnings yield, free cash flow yield, shareholder yield, and dividend yield can be used to estimate a company's valuation range.
08
Avoiding Common Mistakes
Valuation is an art and a science. We uncover some of the most common mistakes that investors make when evaluating a business.
Course schedule
4-6 hours per week
March 14th, 2023
The three-week course kicks off
Tue, Mar 14 - Valuation Spectrum
Thur, Mar 16 - Total Addressable Market
Tue, Mar 21 - Stock Multiples
Thur, Mar 23 - Earnings Power
Tue, Mar 28 - Discounted Cash Flow
Thur, Mar 30 - Reverse DCF
Tue, Apr 4 - Yields
Thur, Apr 6 - Avoiding Mistakes
Tuesdays & Thursdays
12:00pm - 1:30pm EST
9:00 AM - 10:30 AM PST
5:00 PM - 6:30 PM GMT
10:30 PM - 12:00 AM IST
Each class features 30 minutes of lecture followed by 60 minutes of case studies, practice, and Q&A.
An optional 30-minute of small group discussion follows each class.
Office Hours
Ask us anything!
Fri, March 24 - 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM EST
Fri, March 31 - 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM EST
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Valuation Explained Simply
100% Risk-Free
If you attend the sessions, actively participate, and still don’t find the course valuable, we’ll happily refund your payment in full. Simply let us know before the end of the 4th class, and we will issue you a speedy refund.
Meet your instructor
Brian Feroldi
Author | Financial Educator
Brian Feroldi is a financial educator, author, speaker, and YouTuber. He has an MBA in finance and has been investing since 2004. Brian is the author of the best-selling book, Why Does the Stock Market Go Up?
Brian’s career mission statement is “to spread financial wellness.” He loves to help other people do better with their money, especially their investments. He has written more than 3,000 articles on stocks, investing, and personal finance for the Motley Fool.
Brian Stoffel
Financial Educator
Brian Stoffel is a teacher at heart. Brian has been investing for more than a decade and he has written more than 4,000 articles for The Motley Fool.
Brian worked as a middle school teacher in Washington DC for more than 5 years. He and his wife had a "mini-retirement" in Costa Rica and now spent a portion of their year there in a containership home. Brian plans his life and his investments around "antifragile" principles.
Who Should NOT Enroll:
You're interested in technical analysis
We don't use technical analysis ourselves, so we won't be covering it in this course.
You're looking for complex valuation formulas
Some investors use highly complex academic formulas to calculate valuation. Many of those formulas are far too academic in nature to be useful to investors, so we won't be diving deep into them.
You want to become an expert in DCF modeling
This course is designed for beginner and intermediate investors. While we will provide an overview of how DCF models work and practice using them, we'll be focusing on simple inputs. DCF models can get complex, so we won't be diving deep into their complextity.
You want to value options & derivatives
Valuing options, stock-based compensation, and complex financial derivatives is highly complex and beyond the scope of this course.
You're looking for stock recommendations
While we will be looking at company valuations in real-time, we won't be making any stock recommendations.
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Be the first to know about upcoming cohorts
Valuation Explained Simply
Frequently Asked Questions
How long will I have access to the materials and recordings?
What happens if I can’t make a live session?
I work full-time, what is the expected time commitment?
What’s the refund policy?
Can I expense this course?
What if I don't live in the U.S. Will this course still help me?
Learning is better with cohorts
Active hands-on learning
This course builds on live workshops and hands-on projects
Interactive and project-based
You’ll be interacting with other learners through breakout rooms and project teams
Learn with a cohort of peers
Join a community of like-minded people who want to learn and grow alongside you