VentureBlog: Beauty Contests and Venture Valuations

"There is no benefit to any individual player improving their valuation metrics. Let's say that I decided that I should use fundamental analysis (and overcame the uncertainty issues involved). If my calculations came out lower than the simple metrics everybody else was using, I would get shut out of the deal. Since the buyers are also using those metrics when buying, I would be shut out of a potential profit as well."