Scorecard method (Bill Payne)

The Scorecard method, in the variant popularised by investor Bill Payne, values a pre-revenue startup by multiplying the average valuation of same-sector comparables by a weighted score specific to the company being studied.

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The Bill Payne variant uses six criteria with standardised weights: management quality, the product or service offered, target market size, available sales channels, stage of development reached, and a final catch-all factor for other relevant elements. Each criterion is scored relative to the sector average, above or below 100%, to adjust the reference average valuation.

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This method therefore depends entirely on the availability and relevance of the comparables used: in a sector where fundraising rounds are rare or poorly documented, the reference average valuation itself becomes fragile, which mechanically weakens the final result regardless of how precisely the six criteria are scored.

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In business valuation of a Swiss or French seed-stage startup, this method has the advantage of anchoring valuation to real market data, sector comparables, rather than to a purely intrinsic estimate, unlike the Berkus method, which draws on no external comparable at all, a methodological choice discussed in our overview of startup valuation methods.