Free rating for startups

Since 2010, BV4 is active in the field of business and brand valuation. Five years ago, the company decided to focus on startups. Since then, BV4 supports investors in the whole process from startup scouting to due diligence. So far, BV4 has established a database of more than 12.000 startup assessments. An important element for the selection of startups is our rating similar to "Moody's" in the corporate world. BV4 CEO Peter Schmid explains: “Investors use the ratings as a first indication to select the best cases. Startups use our rating as an independent source of trust to gain investors' commitment. Often, they include the result in their pitchdeck.”

BV4 has created the rating methodology together with the University of St. Gallen and developed it further since then. It focuses on the key criteria of successful startups: the team, the product/service, the market and the business model. “Although it’s not an in-depth analysis, each criteria has 5-6 dimensions we look at, with a total of more than 200 rating elements”, says Schmid. This results in a rating between "D" and "A+". The necessary information is collected from the startup itself or from publicly available sources.

BV4 is now offering the rating for early stage startups (pre-seed to series A) from all sectors and independent from their location for free. This will allow them to receive an unbiased feedback from an investor’s point of view. All you have to do is send your pitch deck to the address at the bottom and you will receive a free independent rating in the format below within two weeks.


Peter Schmid comments: “According to our scale, a rating of "B+" and above is a good investment case. Of course, there is no guarantee, but B+ means that more than 60% of our criteria are met, which is a good indication that the startup has growth potential.”

Contact: Dorian Ebneter, Associate at BV4: dorian.ebneter@bv4.ch

(SK)