Let’s start with the ideal scenario:

You get the companies information. Its perfect and truthfully represents the reality of that business. Start with the company’s book value. The book value is what the accountants at the company say the company is worth.

You can't fudge book value... too much.

When an accountant saw your hot dog stand, they just saw, well, the hot dog stand. The accountant could care less about the hot dog market, the opportunity if you move that hot dog stand to a stadium and make more money, celebrity tweets about your hot dog stand… just a hot dog stand. Book value is a great starting point because accountants must report to a standard that they can’t fudge… too much.