I think you need to have ARR(annual recurring revenue) to have a multiplier like this. I think the company makes money when somebody buys the device, but that's it.

It would also help to know the TAM(total market area). How big is the remote KVM market? That gives you an idea on how many devices it's possible to sell in a given year.

Looks like the device sells for about $400.

It wouldn’t be that bad if you are already substracting salaries right? Having a few years in which your earnings are zero due to purchase price is pretty doable if you start earning a cool 100k every year after (even better if it’s a growing business).

> Only high-growth, high-margin businesses can get 7x+ earnings

Not really, the S&P 500's P/E multiple has historically been at around 15x and now is somewhere around 30x [0]. And with that, we're talking about large, mature businesses that are not growing super fast -- more like 6-7% annualized, post-inflation [1].

[0] https://www.multpl.com/s-p-500-pe-ratio

[1] https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/042415/what-average...

Sorry, I should have said revenue.

There is a lot confusion in this thread (sorry) over "earnings multiples" vs "revenue multiples."

On HN you will almost always see revenue multiple discussed.