What are the markers of a startup’s success? What makes a venture capital firm stand out? How is a startup valued? What are the tools a journalist can use to evaluate the financial health of a startup? How did ShareChat become India’s hottest content startup and claim a valuation of $450 million without making any revenue? These are some of the themes Mint’s startup team leader Mihir Dalal covered in his series of lectures at the Asian College of Journalism. Dalal, who also runs the newspaper’s Bengaluru bureau, helped students wrap their heads around evolving business models and the funding ecosystem.