# Edge Financial Model

Data analytics, smart-contract automation, and payments platform for esports players and teams

- Canonical: https://finamodel.com/startups/edge
- Excel download: https://finamodel.com/startup-models/edge.xlsx
- Category: Fintech
- Model type: SaaS ARR / Valuation
- Funding round: Seed
- Funding: $1.5M
- Founded: 2020
- Geography: Global (payments explicitly mention Latin America, Middle East, Asia) [DECK slide 11]
- Customer: B2C

## About the company

Edge is a data analytics, smart-contract automation, and payments platform for esports players and teams. It connects first-party social and gaming data with contract terms, so performance milestones can be verified and payment can be triggered automatically.

The product is built for globally distributed esports organisations that need better data, compliant payouts, and clearer athlete agreements. Its payment rails address regions where traditional banking access and cross-border settlement can be difficult.

The model should combine recurring organisation or seat subscriptions with transaction revenue on contract payouts. Forecast teams, players, paid seats, contract volume, average payout, and net processing take rate, then test customer retention and the cost of compliance, verification, and payment operations.

## What's included

- 5-year monthly revenue build with stage-appropriate growth assumptions
- Full P&L, headcount plan, and operating-expense schedule
- Cash-flow statement, runway, and burn-rate tracking
- Valuation via exit multiple with a DCF cross-check
- Returns analysis with MOIC and IRR
- Unit economics including CAC, LTV, payback, and cohort retention

## Product & value proposition

Three-pillar platform targeting esports players and teams:

1. **True Data** - Direct first-party data collection from connected social and gaming accounts (Twitch, Twitter, Discord, Instagram, Battlenet, and in-game APIs). No scraping, no third-party trackers. Sentiment analysis, impression tracking, engagement metrics.
2. **Fast Payments** - Automated payments claimed to be 1/3 the fee of PayPal. Supports worldwide countries including LATAM, Middle East, Asia. Identity verification, tax-law compliance, guardian approval for minors, no bank account required.
3. **Smart Contracts** - Performance-based contracts that auto-verify data obligations (e.g. "100 headshots in CoD: MW") and trigger payments automatically when met. Cryptographically signed, immutable ledger.

Dashboard UI shown with onboarding flow (connect gaming + social accounts), tweet sentiment dashboard, and a sample esports player contract (Chicago Huntsmen, $100/month salary).

## Revenue model

Not explicitly stated in deck. Implied from product features:
- SaaS subscription fee to teams/organisations for access to the analytics and smart-contract platform - rationale: B2B software targeting esports teams is the natural go-to-market
- Payment processing take-rate (transaction fee) - rationale: deck claims payments are "1/3 of PayPal's fee", implying Edge charges a fee; PayPal typically charges ~2.9% + $0.30, so Edge fee implied ~1% range
- Possible per-contract or per-user seat pricing - rationale: contract management is a discrete deliverable unit

No pricing tiers, ARR, MRR, or revenue breakdown shown.

## Traction & metrics

Contract example shown is illustrative: "Chicago Huntsmen Modern Warfare player contract - $100 SALARY EVERY MONTH" - treated as a demo, not confirmed live customer.

## Competition / moat

Moat claims:
- First-party data (not scraped) - differentiated from third-party trackers
- Machine learning for complex interpretations and predictions
- Cryptographically signed immutable ledger for contract events
- Automated payment-on-performance (unique in esports context)

No named competitors shown. No competitive matrix.

## Team & funding ask / use of funds

- Founder/CEO: Adam Whyte (adam@edge.gg)
- No other team members listed
- No funding ask, valuation, or use-of-funds slide in deck

## Recommended financial model

- **Archetype + why:** SaaS + transaction revenue model. Two revenue streams - (a) recurring subscription (teams/orgs pay per seat or per organisation tier) and (b) payment processing take-rate on contract payouts. This mirrors fintech-SaaS hybrids (e.g. Rippling, Deel) where the payment rail is both a feature and a revenue centre.

- **Forecast horizon & granularity:** 3 years monthly (Y1–Y2 monthly, Y3 annual roll-up). Monthly is appropriate given subscription + transaction cadence and early stage.

- **Key drivers & assumptions:**

| Driver | Value |
| -- | -- |
| Payment take-rate | ~1% implied |

- **Scenarios (Base / Bull / Bear - which variables flex):**
  - **Bear:** Slow org adoption (5 orgs Y1), low payment volume, high churn (20%)
  - **Base:** 10 orgs Y1, moderate payment volume, 12% churn
  - **Bull:** Fast viral esports-org adoption (20+ orgs Y1), high payment volume per player, cross-sell into influencer/streamer market (Twitch creators)

- **Required sheets / outputs:**
  1. Assumptions - all drivers, switchable by scenario
  2. Revenue Build - SaaS subscription revenue (orgs × seat price × months active) + Payment revenue (active players × avg monthly payout × take-rate)
  3. P&L - Revenue, COGS (payment processing costs, data API costs), Gross Profit, OpEx (Sales, Product, G&A), EBITDA
  4. Headcount Plan - roles, hire dates, salaries
  5. Cash Flow & Runway - monthly burn, cash balance
  6. KPI Summary - MRR, ARR, paying orgs, active players, total payment volume processed, blended take-rate, gross margin

## Frequently asked questions

### Is the Edge financial model free?

Yes. The Edge model is a free Excel download with live formulas.

### Can I change the assumptions?

Yes. The workbook is editable and its live formulas recalculate when assumptions change.